i was sixteen years old when i found out i was pregnant. i was in a relationship for a few months at the time and almost done with my sophomore year in high school.

i was terrified and didn’t know what to do. my boyfriend accused me of cheating on him and said that the child wasn’t his. i was too afraid to tell my parents or my older sister, and for the most part kept my pregnancy a secret from my friends. before i found out i was pregnant, i never thought i would get an abortion. however, once i was in the situation myself, i knew it was the right decision. i was in no position to become a teen mom. my own mother was a teen mom and i knew how hard it was for her to raise her kids. i wanted to be able to provide the best life possible for my child and i knew that wasn’t possible at my age. i called planned parenthood and set up appointments for the abortion. luckily, my boyfriends’ mom was willing to drive me there and back. however, she was not happy with my decision. her own daughter (my boyfriend’s sister) had a child at fifteen. they were both encouraging me to go through with the pregnancy which made my decision to have an abortion harder than it already was. i went through with the abortion anyways. my boyfriend provided no support, and was cheating on me while this was happening. i remember being so confused after the surgery was over. none of the nurses were sympathetic and i felt extremely alone. still to this day, my family does not know about it. although i know i made the right decision, it is something i think about every day. i wish i had someone there to support me through my decision, and i hope that future women will not feel bad for their decision to get an abortion.