in the late 1970s, i was working on board a ship when i found out it wasn’t seasickness.

against all odds – i was on birth control – i was 14 weeks pregnant! i had continued to have light periods, so i had no idea until the ship’s doctor did the test while i was being treated for dehydration. going through a heartbreaking divorce, i was not physically, financially or emotionally in any shape to become a mother.

by the time i could get back to my home port, i’d be at 20 or 21 weeks; it was the worst six weeks of my life by far – don’t know how i got through it. i had the procedure the morning after i stepped ashore in the us again. i believe that abortion literally saved my life; i would likely have been a suicide otherwise. instead, i was allowed to get back on my feet mentally and every other way. several years later, i remarried and joyfully became a mother by choice, not by accident – the best choice i ever made in life. i am so grateful i had the abortion option – and that it was still available into the 2nd trimester.