I was 18 years old and a freshman in college when I had sex for the first time. We used a condom. The next day I found the condom still inside of me. At first I didn’t realize what it was, but when I did I got really nervous. I tried to forget about it for a few weeks. When my period didn’t come when it should have, I went to the campus health center and took a pregnancy test. It was positive.
I immediately knew that I was going to get an abortion. Being a mother just wasn’t part of my plan for myself. Ever since I was a child I had wanted to be a lawyer. No one in my family had ever gone to college before. I was so proud to be the first one. It takes seven years of school to be a lawyer and I had just started. I was not about to give that up for a child that I didn’t want. I never had a desire to be a mother. That doesn’t mean that I hate children. In fact, I think that they’re great, but I just don’t want children of my own. So my mind was made up right away.
I didn’t have much money to pay for the abortion. I think that it cost a few hundred dollars, and I only had about half that. There was no way that I could tell my parents. They are Catholic and would never approve. I decided to go to the guy who had gotten me pregnant and ask for the money. We had only known each other for about a month. Sleeping with him was the biggest mistake of my life. He agreed to pay half. I also needed a ride to the clinic, and he agreed to take me.
The morning of my appointment I went to his dorm room and he didn’t answer the door. The door was unlocked, and when I opened it I saw him sound asleep. I don’t know what came over me, but I just turned around and walked out. I walked back to my dorm and saw one of the two friends that I had told about the pregnancy. She marched me back over to his room and woke his ass up! She was so great and supportive.
He drove me to the clinic. There were no protestors. When my name was called, I went to speak with a counselor or nurse who wanted to know if I was sure that I wanted an abortion. I said yes. The procedure was very quick and painless. It was a bit uncomfortable, but that was all. A nurse held my hand the entire time. Afterwards I rested in a reclining chair for about twenty minutes, and then I went home. I had some cramps for the next couple of days, but they weren’t that bad.
It is now about ten years later, and I have never regretted my decision. I am happily married to a man who does not want children. I’ve been an attorney for a few years now, and I work for a wonderful pro-choice law firm that fights for women’s rights.
