I made an appointment at Planned Parenthood and he paid. The mood was dire in the waiting room, so my ex broke out into some old Temptations song. All of the other boyfriends joined, everyone was giggling and the mood of the room lightened up a bit. They gave me a pill that made me feel loopy and a little while later, I was called back into "the room." I was making jokes with the nurses until the doctor came in. He did his thing and described everything he was doing.

It did hurt, I didn't care about the temporary pain though, I just couldn't wait for it to be over so I could get on with my life! After the procedure, I was sent back into a room and sat in a huge comfy recliner. The nurses gave me yummy cookies and apple juice and a nice warm heating blanket while we chit-chatted for an hour. I wasn't supposed to be back there for so long, but we were having a jolly old time. It was nice! I've never had any regrets. I did what needed to be done and that was that.

My most recent abortion is a little different. 7 years later, I'm now with a man who I love to the ends of the earth. We have three young children—the youngest is 7 months old. I never imagined having more than three children, and my body can't take anymore. My body HATES being pregnant. And with every pregnancy, on top of the old pains I get some new infection, affliction, disorder, allergy, etc. My last pregnancy I put up with high blood pressure, anemia, recurring Bacterial Vaginosis, extreme morning sickness, Symphysis Pelvis Dysfunction, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Gestational Diabetes, hypothyroid and many other goodies. Sounds delightful, right? Well imagine my shock and horror when my period—which is like clockwork—didn’t come.

We had been using condoms, never once slipped up. But I shouldn't have been too surprised because my last two children were conceived while I was on the pill and Nuva Ring... Well, put together all of my recurring pregnancy induced health issues, and the fact that we're living paycheck to paycheck, abortion was the only option. It took a few weeks, but we saved up the money--$450 plus $75 for the Depo shot. I wasn't gonna leave there unprotected!

At the clinic, I had my finger pricked, blood pressure taken, they gave me a pill for the pain and did a sonogram. I was 11.5 weeks. I sat in the waiting room for what seemed like eternity. I was extremely nervous, but never doubtful. They called my name, and walked me to the back. The doctor introduced himself and instructed me to take off everything below the waist except for my socks and get comfy on the bed. A few minutes later, I heard screaming and bawling from another room and became irritated. What's screaming going to do besides make all the other girls terrified and make the experience worse than it has to be? A very nice nurse came in and introduced herself. She was very nice. She started me on nitrous oxide and we talked for a while about our kids and other random stuff. The doctor came in and started the procedure. By the time he was halfway done, the gas had really kicked in and I started giggling for no reason. The doctor started making jokes and I was laughing so hard. There was a point when it was slightly painful for a few seconds, but I was so high, I didn't care. He commented that I was one of the most relaxed patients he'd ever had, and how easy the procedure was because my body was so loose. After my uterus was emptied, the nurse turned me over and gave me the shot in my butt cheek and then it was over. This time the aftercare wasn't so great. My reclining chair was sitting straight up, so I couldn't relax, there were no yummy cookies and apple juice, only boring old water. I was the last patient of the day; all the other girls were gone. Two nurses in the same room as me were talking about going out and having a great time—as soon as I left. One also kept commenting on how slow time was creeping by because she wanted to hurry up and leave as soon as I left. How rude!!! I asked the nurse if I could go, even though I was supposed to rest for 15 more minutes. I left and that was that. Since the abortion was only yesterday, I still have slight feelings of guilt. Not regret, I would without a doubt do it all over again … but this time, I'd ask if they had apple juice and cookies.