i was in a relationship for four years with a man i thought i would marry. after some really hard choices and conversations, we brokeup before he moved away for grad school. one weekend he was back in town visiting and we ended up sleeping together – and i became pregnant. both of our families are extremely conservative, and we felt like telling them about our situation wasn’t an option. our decision was that abortion seemed like the only possibility. he didn’t want a child that would be a burden on our future families, and i didn’t want to have a child with a father who would consider him or her a burden. his reaction broke my heart. we went to a clinic to have the abortion and then spent the weekend together while i recovered. i have never experienced so much heartache in my life – a pregnancy should be a joyful and wonderful experience and ours caused so much pain. i’m still recovering emotionally, and one thing i wish is that abortions were talked about more. i will never feel safe enough to talk to my family about it, and the father of the child isn’t a part of my life so the experience was a lonely one. a few of my friends have been there for me, but if you haven’t gone through it, it’s hard to relate. i’m on the road to making peace about what i decided to do – but reading the other stories and realizing i am not the only one who has gone through this helps immensely.