I was in my early 20s when I got pregnant. I was using the Copper-7 IUD, which I had used successfully since I was 17. The Copper-7 IUD, which I think is no longer used, had a success rate of 98% (that is, 2 women out of 100 who used it for a whole year would get pregnant).

Since I was sexually active, I regularly considered what I would do if I got pregnant, and I had made up my mind that I would have an abortion. I was open to having children in a stable relationship with a partner who wanted a child, but when I got pregnant, I was not in such a relationship. Also, pregnancy with the Copper-7 IUD in place was not recommended and there was a high risk of miscarriage.

I had a boyfriend but we did not have a committed relationship. I told my boyfriend that I was pregnant and was planning to have an abortion. He didn't object or ask for a say in the matter. Our relationship continued for another year after the abortion.

On the advice of a friend, I went to Planned Parenthood. They gave me a pregnancy test. I think they mailed the results to me that I was pregnant. I phoned them and said I wanted an abortion. The counselor on the phone asked me why I wanted an abortion, and I said "I'm not in a position to raise a child right now."

My abortion was scheduled for a weekend morning. I took a girlfriend with me -- I didn't really feel like bringing my boyfriend. It was near the anniversary of Roe V. Wade and there was a picket line of anti-abortion activists lining the sidewalk. They didn't taunt or harrass me, just stood there with their signs, but I wasn't very happy about their being there all the same.

I was given a local anesthetic and the abortion was performed. A nurse held my hand and asked me questions to distract me. I went into a recovery room to rest for a short period, then my girlfriend took me home. I had cramping for a few days.

I have never regretted having an abortion and I have never felt that I made a mistake. This is the case even though I did feel very aware while I was pregnant of a living being inside me and part of me.

In the past few years I have thought every now and then about what the child would have been like now if he or she had been born. I believe a few thoughts along those lines are natural. They aren't frequent and they don't distress me.

I have been in a stable relationship for the past twelve years. My partner and I briefly considered having children, but decided against it because medical issues would have caused a high-risk pregnancy.

If I found myself pregnant now, I might consider going through with the pregnancy despite the medical issues. But pregnancy is very unlikely because I recently had a surgical procedure that usually causes infertility. I don't feel that my willingness to raise a child now invalidates my earlier choice to have an abortion.