i was twenty-one and still in college when i found out i was pregnant even though i had used protection faithfully. from the moment i found out, there was no question that i’d end the pregnancy. i didn’t want to be a parent – ever – and certainly not at that moment.

it was a watershed event for me because, at the time, i wasn’t very confident. i made a lot of bad decisions because i was afraid, or ashamed, or caved into peer pressure. my judgment was particularly poor when it came to relationships with men. my need for love and attention often led me to trouble. but the decision to have an abortion was really the first adult choice i made in my life. i was rational, confident and sure of myself in a way i rarely was in those days. at times of adversity since then, i have often remembered that choice – and how well things work out when i use my mind to do what i know if right. it has allowed me to become a strong self-advocate and a support for others. i have never, not even for a moment, regretted my choice.