it was the hardest decision i've ever had to make.

not long after i was divorced, a friend introduced me to a man, also recently divorced, and we became lovers. i was very vulnerable at the time. i got pregnant by him because we had unprotected sex.

1972 freedom

the summer of my 17th birthday, i became pregnant. my best friend and first feminist sister, katie bug, sifted through the ads in the back of the “rolling stone” and quickly found an abortion clinic in new york city that would do an abortion on an out-of-state 17 year old with no parental involvement.

i was barely 18, and toward the end of completing military training cycle at fort sam houston, tx when i found out i was pregnant. training can affect a woman's menstrual cycle so i thought nothing of it when i missed my period. plus, i was using protection when sexually active, which left me no reason to suspect pregnancy.

i was 20 when i ended my first pregnancy, my partner 19. we had been together almost three years and were very much in love.

i grew up in a home with a violent, alcoholic father who began to molest me when i was three and frequently, violently raped my mother within my hearing.