he was my first serious boyfriend and neither of us knew anything about birth control or pregnancy prevention thanks to the lack of accurate sex ed from our religious high school. i became pregnant within a few months of losing my virginity and had an abortion at 18.

12 years later, i am now married to the same man and working for planned parenthood as a communications manager. my office is in the same building that i had my abortion. even though i have built a life i am proud of, filled with men and women who share my values about choice, i am still too afraid to tell anybody. the stigma is real.