i was 23 years old. i had been with my boyfriend for 6 months. i was just starting my last year of graduate school. then, the unthinkable happened, my iud failed.

i got pregnant as a teen, by my boyfriend. he was irresponsible, and i had mental health problems. my parents were older, old enough to be my grandparents. they were not able or willing to help me raise a child. so they took me to have the surgical procedure, which was performed by an ob/gyn. he's the one who had verified that i was pregnant. the next year, still a teen having mental problems, i got pregnant again, by another irresponsible boyfriend.

when i got pregnant at 23 i had an abortion. my boyfriend at the time drove me three hours for the procedure b/c there were no services in my hometown. the procedure was relatively fast and i don't remember feeling anything.

i am now in my seventies. when i had my abortion it was not yet legal, nor were there birth control pills. i was 19 and in love with my college boyfriend.

when i was 18, my boyfriend of 2 years and i had just broken up. we were in that in-between phase between breaking up and moving out. it was in this time that i found out i was pregnant.

my dad molested me until i was 13. he didn't impregnate me but i believe growing up that way made it hard for me to say no. at 16 on a rare occasion when my boyfriend's mom was out we were looking forward to sex. i said no when he told me he forgot condoms, but he made me feel like shit so i said yes. i was later told i had no one to blame but myself.