As a single mother of five, it is hard to make ends meet. The assistance that NAF provides is greatly appreciated for women in my situation. I was married eight years when I found out that my husband was a pedophile. He hurt my little girl and I had to remove him from the home, which took away our income. Since then I have been struggling to get by. I am in no state to care for another child on my own. For these reasons I made this decision and I do not regret it.
–Submitted by Xana through a member clinic
I found out at 24 weeks that my baby had severe Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) and some brain issues. I did additional testing at a university hospital and all confirmed the original findings.
I was brought to my knees by the diagnosis and to add insult to injury, the hospital staff was very emotionless and unsympathetic to my condition and my options.
After two weeks of back and forth with my doctors and insurance company, I went out on my own to look for help. Thankfully someone at a local clinic put me in contact with a doctor that could assist me. I was scared and I had to drive two hours from home and was going somewhere I had never been before to see someone I had only spoken to on the phone a few times.
I was treated with compassion and care. Although I was tired, scared, and heartbroken, I know did what was right for my family and for my mental well being. I feel I did the most compassionate thing I could for my daughter. I said goodbye in my own way on my own terms and did not allow her to die slowly in my womb.
My choice was difficult to say the least and I will never be the same after this experience. These are some of my darkest days and I am saddened that it was so extremely difficult to get the care that I wanted. I am so grateful that there are brave people out there who provide this kind of care. I wish all women in my situation, who are faced with these issues, have the option to get the top notch care that I did.
–Submitted by Ariel through our website
Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we feature real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.