DISCLAIMER FROM INS WEBMASTER: Although this procedure was ultimately successful, I’mNotSorry.net does NOT encourage self-aborting as the risks far outweigh the benefits. This story is being included to show those who would oppose a woman’s right to a safe, legal abortion the lengths to which some will go to get around roadblocks such as parental notification.
I am an 18 year old from the southern United States, where most people my age are already parents. Most of the girls I went to high school with are now mothers, are pregnant, or are trying to become pregnant. I, however, don’t want to have children until after I graduate from college and find a job so I can adequately care for any children I do decide to have. So, when I became pregnant at 17, I knew what I had to do.
I remember the horror I felt when I looked at the pregnancy test. I knew my birth control had failed before I saw the test, because I felt it. Woman’s intuition, whatever you want to call it, but I knew before I saw that test that I was pregnant. I felt it in my body; my breasts were so swollen and sore. But when I saw that plus sign, it confirmed all my horrors. I was pregnant at 17, and I wasn’t ready.
I called my boyfriend and we shared a mutual feeling of dread and disgust at becoming parents. We knew we couldn’t afford it, that we weren’t mature enough for a child, and that we couldn’t bring a baby into the world if we weren’t able to give it everything it needed to thrive. I’ve been told that I’m selfish for having an abortion, but I think it’s selfish to bring a child into the world if you can’t afford to raise them.
We thought it over for a few days at most before we were absolutely certain that adoption or keeping the child wasn’t right for us. I had no desire to go through the rest of high school pregnant with a baby that I would have to give away. I had been feeling horribly sick, depressed, and generally awful. I was less than a month in, and I already wanted nothing more to do with pregnancy.
I gave some nearby clinics some calls, but the law was that my mother would have to escort me. I, for one, wasn’t sure we could afford the procedure itself, and secondly was so afraid of my mom’s reaction that I kept it to myself. I decided to try to undergo a natural home abortion via Vitamin C before I had to resort to a surgical procedure. I knew it would be easier, cheaper, and less painful for me. I gave myself an ultimatum – a week and a half. If I didn’t have a negative test by then, I’d go to my mother and have the surgical procedure.
So, my boyfriend and I bought an industrial size bottle of Vitamin C. I took 10 grams of Vitamin C every day for almost a week. I took two pills every couple of hours, and hoped for the best. Fortunately, within about a week, I was starting to bleed. A few days passed, and I took another test. All the horror I felt when I saw the positive vanished when I saw that negative. I felt such relief and joy wash over me and I realized that I no longer had to suffer through this burden any longer.
Now, I’ve graduated from high school. The boyfriend and I are still together, but he is my fiancé now. It’s been about a year since I had my natural at home abortion, and I am definitely not sorry. I couldn’t be happier with my decision, and not an ounce of regret has washed over me. I know I made the right choice. Someday I will have children, but not until I’m able to afford it and am emotionally prepared for parenthood. That’s my story, and I am definitely NOT sorry.
