I had an abortion on August 19, 2006. That is a date that I will never forget. I woke up at 6 A.M. to leave for Harrisburg so me and my boyfriend could get there by 7:30 A.M. The whole time I was driving all I could think about was the day we found out that I was pregnant. We had just gone out to eat with his mother and we were on our way home and I just had the weirdest feeling ever. We bought a pregnancy test on the way home and I took one. It took less than 20 seconds for the positive result to come back. I cried and cried all night long, but I knew what I had to do. Although my boyfriend was completely again abortion I explained my side of things to him and he explained his side to me. He came to understand my reasons. I am only 19 and he is only 20. We are not ready for a child.
So we arrived at the clinic 15 minutes early and there were escorts outside waiting to walk us in the building. They reassured me that I was safe, they were just there in case of protestors. After entering I was called into the receptionist’s office and I paid for the services and got my file to take with me for my lab work. My boyfriend and I sat in the waiting room together for about 5 minutes when they called me back. My boyfriend was instructed to wait upstairs in the waiting room while I gave a urine sample in a cup and had to sit in the downstairs waiting room again. About 5 more minutes later I was called back for bloodwork. The lab technician was a very funny man and he almost made me forget why I was there. After that, I went to the upstairs waiting room where I was able to join my boyfriend again. We had been sitting there for a while, and I noticed that of all the people there, my boyfriend was the most supportive. Every time I got nervous or upset, he just put his arm around me and held me. He never left my side in that waiting room.
I was called back for counseling after about 20 minutes of waiting. I was in with an older lady who actually didn’t even question my decision, she just asked me how I wanted to prevent pregnancy after the procedure. She gave me a starter pack of birth control pills and sent me downstairs to give my file back to the lab technician, then I waited upstairs with my boyfriend again. 15 minutes later my name came over the loudspeaker to go to room 4 downstairs. The nurse was very helpful and she was a softspoken woman. She told me I had 2 minutes to take my clothes off below my waist, lay my underwear at the head of the operating table, and cover up with the sheet. The doctor came in and greeted me and began the procedure. The nurse explained everything that was happening to me while it was happening. She even offered me her hand to hold throughout the entire procedure. The doctor gave me novicaine in my cervix and then began the procedure. There was some pinching from the shots but I handled that well. The most pain I felt during the whole things was just like strong menstrual cramps and little bit of pulling on the inside from the machine. It was all over in less than 5 minutes and the doctor told me I did fine, and i would be fine. I was walked back to recovery and sat there for 20 minutes until the recovery nurse released me.
I’m still having spotty bleeding and cramps now and then, but I’m not sorry I decided to have an abortion. I am not ready for motherhood. The whole process was scary but I had the most understanding boyfriend holding my hand the whole way. Before this I was on the fence with deciding right and wrong on the issue of abortion. Now I know where I stand. It is 100% the woman’s choice, not society’s, not the boyfriend’s, only hers. I’m not sorry I had an abortion, and I won’t let anybody tell me I should be.
