Susanne’s Story

I got pregnant at 17, from a night of unprotected passion. I was a senior in high school, i had a 3.8 GPA and was on my way to attending Boston Bay College to major in marine biology. It seemed as though one night was going to stop me from doing something I have dreamt about my entire life, for as long as I can remember, I had wanted to go to Boston to study and become a marine biologist. I found out i was pregnant about a month a half later. I was scared, I didn’t even remember the name of the guy I slept with and so I had no way of contacting him. It was the 2nd week in May when I decided I had to tell my parents; I was about 2 months along. To say they were disappointed would be an understatement; I heard it all from “you’re better then this” to “you were going to be somebody.” After the tears stopped rolling, my mother, Rosa, and my father, Edward, began telling me of ways I can still go to college and have a child. They said I should enlist at a community college not far away. As they were talking, i could see my whole life along with my dreams slipping away. I brought up the subject of abortion and they immediately objected, saying it wasn’t right to kill an unborn child. A few days later, i went and visited a clinic in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, about an hour from where I lived, who performed abortions. They told me the pros and cons, and about the emotional rollercoaster i was about to endure. I made an appointment for it to happen the following day, my parents knowing nothing about it. I had it done the following day, and felt guilty for days. I was beginning to regret what i had done, so I went to my parents. I think they were more disappointed in the abortion then they were the whole pregnancy thing. My father didn’t talk to me for weeks, and my mother said few words. I made it through the summer and made it to college in the fall, my friends and family knowing nothing about what had happened. I spent 6 years at Boston Bay and graduated with honors. I currently have a job in Connecticut making more money then I ever dreamed. My mother and father came around, and once in a while they tell me they were wrong, and i made the best decision of my life.