it was april 2014. i was 22 and i had just moved from michigan to arizona, fresh out of college. it was easter and i was 2,000 miles away from my family. i had met a guy online the day before.
he came over and we started drinking with my roommate and her girlfriend. we slept together.

i’ve always known the risks involved with sex and how to stay safe, so when he asked if he could take the condom off, i said no. we fell asleep in my bed naked. at some point during the night, i woke up to discover that he had pulled me on top of him and he was inside me. as soon as i realized, i rolled away and went back to sleep. the next morning, my memory of the event was so fuzzy, i wasn’t even sure if it had actually happened. some time passed, i went on a couple other dates. about 2 weeks later, my period still hadn’t come and it usually runs like clockwork. i suddenly remembered what had happened in the middle of the night and i knew. i was terrified and furious. i had just started a new job and i had moved across the country just a month before. i’ve always wanted kids but not under those circumstances and definitely not when couldn’t devote the time and energy they’d need. the process of getting an abortion was a lot more difficult than the abortion itself. i expected to feel guilty or sad but all i could feel was relief that it was over and that my life could go back to normal. i don’t regret it for a second.