i was 20 when he promised me he was infertile, and i trusted him. why wouldn’t i? he was a close friend and had never lied to me before.

at the time, i was going to a very expensive private college and my conservative parents were already stressed as a result of that. so, i never told them. i did tell him, however, and he panicked. he’s catholic, and assumed i was going to keep the child. he was supportive of me, went to the clinic with me, and offered to help pay. i knew he could barely afford food for himself, so i paid all of the bills and he did not object. before the abortion, it was a tough decision for me. my parents would have rather i kept the child, and i had nightmares about them finding out about the abortion. i had no idea what they would have done, but i never wanted to find out. it’s almost 3 years later, and i still get billed every few months. what i hope to see in the future is reduced stigma of abortions and more options for women who cannot afford them.