when i was 18 i got pregnant. abortion was illegal then and i couldn't find the back alley. the boy, his parents and my mother pressured me to get married. all the money i had saved for college went for maternity expenses.

14 years ago today my son was born. he weighed in at 1lbs 10oz. had the sweetest little cheeks and a full head of the blackest hair i'd ever seen...he had ten tiny little fingers and ten tiny little toes... he was also very broken inside...

i had an abortion when i was 18. i had been feeling nauseated for a few days. my friend stood with me while i watched the test develop two pink lines. on the drive home we talked a little about abortion but i just wasn't sure.

i was 19 and had been dating a guy for about three months when we discovered i had become pregnant. we were on a vacation when i began to have severe, almost unbearable, cramps. i was expecting my period any day but i knew something was not right.

the abortion i had at 24 in 1991 did society a favor.