Dec 21 Dec 21 "I just don’t feel ready, not one bit." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Florida, U.S. “I had my first abortion at 20 years old. I told myself that if I ever got pregnant again I will not get another abortion. I didn’t think I would get pregnant this time around, it’s something that I wasn’t even thinking of.” Read more.
Dec 20 Dec 20 "The only shame I feel today is the shame of staying quiet publicly about my experience." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, U.S. “I am one of the lucky ones – I had access to abortion, I could afford them, and I knew I wouldn’t have to face any extreme consequences for my abortions. Many people are not as lucky, and I realized today that my silence has contributed to the culture war we are facing where so many of us just stay quiet.” Read more.
Dec 6 Dec 6 "Sometimes we feel guilty about not feeling guilty, because it is what we have been told to feel." ~ "A veces sentimos culpa de no sentir culpa, porque es lo que nos han dicho que debemos sentir." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Ecuador, Spanish/English “I believe that women who abort more than once are women who are grateful to ourselves for being able to decide on our body as often and at the times we deem necessary.” Read more.”Creo que las mujeres que abortamos más de una vez somos mujeres que estamos agradecidas con nosotras mismas por poder decidir sobre nuestro cuerpo las veces y en los momentos que creamos necesarios.” Lee mas.
Dec 6 Dec 6 "I was 14 and had no business even thinking I was going to raise a kid with a 14 year old boy." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Not Given “Three years later, 17 and home from a year abroad, I started hanging out with a guy I grew up with. He had 2 kids already, the condom broke, and here I was again. Pregnant. No questions about it, I was not ready for this. It was my senior year of high school.” Read more.
Nov 29 Nov 29 "I've never been ashamed of having more than one abortion." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, U.S. “I like children, but am not sure I need to have one myself or on my own. I would maybe consider it if I was in the right relationship, but it is not an overwhelming need for me. My last abortion I was in a relationship, but it was unstable. I did not want to be tied for the rest of my life to a man that had that many issues.” Read more.
Nov 21 Nov 21 "I thought I would end up being one more mother pretending to be happy." ~ "Pensé que terminaría siendo una madre más fingiendo ser feliz". Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Mexico, In Spanish & English, Later Abortions “I tried to get used to the idea of having it, and in a moment of madness I told everyone. I called it good news. That same night I regretted saying it because I really didn't want it and neither did their support make me change my mind.” Read more.“Traté de acostumbrarme a la idea de tenerlo, y en un momento de locura se lo conté a todos. Lo llamé buenas noticias. Esa misma noche lamenté haberlo dicho porque realmente no lo quería y tampoco su apoyo me hizo cambiar de opinión ”. Lee mas.
Nov 13 Nov 13 "I had this feeling that I wasn’t ready for another baby." Sharing Truth Four Abortions, Location Not Given “My boyfriend supported me, even though he did not want me to have an abortion. I thought long and hard about what my boyfriend felt, then decided to listen to what I wanted. It’s your body and when it comes down to it, it’s your life that will be affected more than your girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s.” Read more.
Nov 3 Nov 3 "I didn't want a pregnancy at 16 to be a deciding factor for my future." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, South Africa “With the first, I was too emotional and felt guilty for taking a life, but grew to understand my decisions. The second one I was 24 and I honestly had a lot going on my life from financial depression to just life in general and I didn't want to add more to my plate.” Read more.
Oct 24 Oct 24 "Sometimes loving a baby means choosing not to bring it into chaos." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Utah, U.S. “I made the decision each time, but especially the third time, out of complete willingness to do what was best for the baby and also for myself. It still haunts me, daily, the sadness and regret, but the lists were so terribly unequalized. It was the right choice even though it wasn’t the easy choice.” Read more.
Oct 8 Oct 8 "I have never written about my abortions before." ~ Journalist Mona Eltahawy Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Egypt, U.S. “Why couldn’t I, Mona Eltahawy, a woman born in Egypt to a Muslim family, write an essay under my own name, in which I say openly and without shame that I have had two abortions, that I am glad I had those two abortions and that had I become pregnant again I would have had another abortion because I did not want to have children? Why have I been able to risk my safety and my life by writing articles about a military-backed regime but I could not write about my abortions?” Read more.
Oct 5 Oct 5 "I would’ve tried anything to terminate them on my own." Sharing Truth Four-plus Abortions, U.S., Multiple Abortions “As someone who cannot take birth control & almost died from an IUD implantation, the 4+ abortions were after I had both of my children. I can’t express how much relief I had felt that I had the options available when I needed them and I honestly don’t know if I would still be here today without them.” Read more.
Oct 1 Oct 1 "It was what I had to do. It really wasn't that traumatic." ~ "Era lo que tenia que hacer. Realmente no fue tan traumática." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Dominican Republic, In Spanish & English “I was only 4.5 weeks along, but I had already been able to see the gestational sac. I was very anxious precisely because of the illegal situation in the country where I live (DR) and I was afraid that something would happen to me and everyone would find out and of course a complication. This is my third abortion, my second with misoprostol.” “Tenía solo 4.5 semanas, pero ya había podido ver el saco gestacional. Estuve muy ansiosa precisamente por la situación de ilegalidad en el país donde vivo (RD) y tenía miedo que algo me pasara y todos se enteraran y por supuesto una complicación. Es mi tercer aborto, el segundo con misoprostol.” Lee mas.
Sep 25 Sep 25 "I’m trying to let go of a bit of the guilt I feel from this being my second procedure." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, U.S. “I found out I was pregnant about 2.5 weeks ago. I had a complete meltdown and was conflicted on what I wanted to do. For a while I was 50/50 — primarily because I felt guilt because if I decided to terminate this would be my second termination, and I felt so much guilt/shame over that. My last termination was a very long time ago, 10 years or so and I was super young and didn’t think twice about terminating.” Read more.
Sep 16 Sep 16 "I’m so glad I trusted my brain, my body and my heart." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Oregon, U.S. “I found out I was pregnant again when she was 7 months old and knew I wasn’t ready for another baby. It felt so selfish to give my daughter a sibling so young. I just want her to grow up and be the main focus for a while. I ordered the abortion pills and tried to prepare myself while waiting for them to arrive. Once they arrived I was so scared and just bawled my eyes out thinking about how terrible of a person I was to be doing this.” Read more.
Sep 12 Sep 12 "This allowed me to look at abortion as a blessing for me, a chance to break many generational traumas." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Location Not Given “At 15 I got pregnant. I did not want to carry the stereotype that most Latina women have of having children very young. At 22 I got pregnant for the second time. With no full time job and being a first-year masters student, I knew that having a baby was not in the plans. I thought I was supposed to feel guilty –otherwise I feared being perceived as a bad person if I felt relieved from having an abortion.” Read more.
Sep 8 Sep 8 "I started crying as I didn’t want to be pregnant and I told them I wanted to end it in any possible way. " Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Palestine “Because of the health risks of this pregnancy, I was able to reach a doctor who was able to help me with information about pills that ended the pregnancy. I was then referred to the government hospital to get a sterilization operation. It took an entire year to get a date for the operation but when it came to the day, the anaesthetist refused to treat me.” Read more.
Sep 5 Sep 5 Podcast ~ "As a 16-year-old I kept hoping it would just go away." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, New Jersey, New York, Audio Listen to this episode of the Abortion Diary to hear what it was like to get an abortion before Roe v. Wade legalized the procedure in 1973. Judi M. tells of getting pregnant after a rape at 16 and then going to an apartment for an illegal abortion. Her frightening experience led her into a career in reproductive health. Her descriptions of anti-abortion protesters reveal how little has changed since her 2nd abortion in 1978. Listen.
Aug 31 Aug 31 "I regret not having that abortion." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Missouri, U.S. “Choosing to end my third pregnancy was challenging, probably more emotional than the first, but I had no doubts that I was doing the right thing. I wasn't on that roller coast of emotions for this abortion, and it comes down to me already having an abortion and me having a busier life. I was at a baby shower for a friend of mine a week after and I had no problems looking at her and no problems talking about babies. I knew that day that I was never going to regret the choice I made.” Read more.
Aug 31 Aug 31 "You'd think being so 'pro-life' he would be anti-abortion for me, too. Nope." Sharing Truth Seven Abortions, U.K. Content warning. Child sexual abuse. “My stepfather is a ‘pro life’ advocate, petitioning outside of clinics, supporting anti choice politicians and going to the march for life. But, when I was 11 he got me pregnant for the first time.” Read more.
Aug 25 Aug 25 "I was seriously depressed realizing that this man wasn’t into actually committing to me or having a family." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Not Given “I left that person because he’d lied to me and didn’t want what I wanted in life. I’ve never regretted my decision as I was a hurt, lost person at that point in my life. And I watched my sister, who was a teen parent, struggle and fail. I never wanted that hard a life, especially for any child of mine.” Read more.
