i have been pregnant 7 times--had 2 abortions, then a child, then another abortion, then another child, then a 5-month-along miscarriage, then my last child, and i got my tubes tied at age 34. my first abortion was in 1973--abortion had just been made legal.

i got pregnant at 17 and knew for sure i wasn't keeping the baby. it was the summer and i just got done with my junior year of high school. i had a lot i still wanted to do with my life and school wise i wasn't even done with high school.

i was 16 years old and it was 1975 (5 years after roe v wade) and i was dating a 19 year old who had been sexually active. we started dating in 1974 and i had been able to avoid having sex.

at 17, i graduated high school early with honors as a student heavily involved with my community. a few months later, i jumped a bigger and more dangerous hurdle:
i got out of a 4-year relationship defined by abuse that culminated in repeated intimate partner rape.

i will never forget discovering your website. i stumbled upon it not long after my son taught me how to use twitter. i was overwhelmed with gratitude to find all of these brave voices being lifted up.

at 17 years old i encountered an unexpected pregnancy. struggling with severe depression i had made the decision to terminate my pregnancy.