This story is published at Shout Your Abortion.
When I was 17 I got pregnant and did not have the money for a procedure.
I also was an immigrant and I could not get a signature from my parents who were not in the country.
So I carried the pregnancy to term, and had my twin daughters who are now 17 themselves.
I have had 2 abortions in these 17 years. Once surgical and once chemical. Neither time it was an easy choice but I am so glad I was able to choose instead of being forced into motherhood by circumstance.
I love my daughters, but being a single parent has been sometimes unbearably hard, because we live in a society that chastises women for ending pregnancies but then does not support mothers at all.
I struggle at every step to find decent education for my twins, to find healthy food, to find housing or childcare, to find Healthcare and to afford our meals.
We need to invest in social services and basic human needs. That is what being pro life should mean, to actually make life good for everyone!
~Chiara
