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 will be featuring 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.
–submitted by Emily* through a member clinic
I am so sad and scared for women’s rights and those that serve us. When I was younger I made the choice to have an abortion. I was a drug addict and knew I could not care for a child. It was 1973, the first year a woman could make this choice. I was lucky that women and men had fought so hard to make this happen; I was able to choose my destiny.
I am the woman and mother I am today—fully recovered, a social worker, and good mother—because I was able to delay having a child. I want to speak out and say I am not ashamed, I have no regrets, I am forever thankful that I was able to choose. When I had my abortion, there was no harassment, no bulletproof glass, and no angry, mean people calling me a killer. Today when I take my clients to clinics we have to walk through hate and intimidation. It makes me so sad and scared. And yet if you ask me, I would die for this right. Dr. Tiller is a hero, a man that said, “Trust Women.” We have lost so much and every day we are losing more. Thank you for all you do.
–submitted by Erika* via our website