“So many mixed emotions”
July 21st, 2010
Well when i found out i was pregnant i didn't know what to do and how to tell my boyfriend. But the night i found out i called him up and told him that i was pregnant and his response was "Do you wanna abort it?". i really didn't know if i wanted to give up a life i made, but i had my whole life ahead of me and i was only in high school at the time and i was pregnant for about 3 or 4 months and everyone at school started to notice and started saying alot of mean hurtful things, it was a really stressful time so many mixed emotions and crazy cravings. My boyfriend said he would of left me if i kept it. so i decided to abort it but i wasn't happy about it. After the abortion i woke up crying but also relieved. If i had the choice to i probably would of kept it but i had so many plans and i wanted a future. But still to this day i wonder what would of happened if i kept it.
“She hated that other people at school found out [about the abortion].”
June 25th, 2010
I had a friend in high school who got pregnant, and she decided to have an abortion. She said she was glad she was able to finish high school, but she hated that other people at school found out. I think she didn’t mind being pregnant, but she didn’t like how everyone talked about it, and she didn’t want the stigma of being pregnant at school. Almost no one in my high school got pregnant and stayed in school. If they did get pregnant, they went to an alternative school, and my friend didn’t want to go there. At any rate, she got pregnant again a year later and is now a mom.
“I was just there until I found a better job. He was just there until he left for boot camp.”
May 11th, 2010
My story didn’t look good at the time. I had been having a temporary fling with a guy at work. I was just there until I found a better job. He was just there until he left for boot camp (Marines). He’d been gone for a few weeks before I realized I was pregnant. I couldn’t even call to tell him. My parents didn’t even know that I had been seeing someone – let alone a guy of a different race (which I thought would bother them). They thought I was the perfect kid – never in trouble, always getting A’s at school – and suddenly I was pregnant & alone.
Deciding what to do was rough. The father said he’d support me whatever I decided – which actually wasn’t very helpful. I went back & forth a lot. Finally I decided to keep my baby. My deciding factor was realizing that I might not have a perfect life, but I could give my child all the love he’d ever need.
My son is now 17. I never ended up getting pregnant again. Raising him hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve always been glad for the decision I made. For me, parenting was the right choice.
“I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.”
April 20th, 2010
I “reasoned” that having a child would be inconvenient for me as an unwed freshman in college; I’d have to tell my mom and feel the shame and embarrassment of not waiting for sex until marriage and the absolutely unspeakable act of having unprotected sex with two men on the same day as an act of anger at the time against one of them and winding up getting pregnant. Then I would have to come home and be even more of a burden and shame to her. I’d have to tell her that I wasn’t really her honor student exercising poor judgment and lack of self-control – it was just the binge drinking and occasional casual drug use that I’d chosen to take up that made me temporarily lose my mind and “do it” and that I’d never do anything like it again. I’m sure that would have made her feel much better – not only like her daughter was a failure but that she had failed as a mother. I didn’t have the courage or heart to go to her or anyone in my family to talk about it. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. They still don’t know and it is tearing me apart.
“A very eye-opening experience”
April 15th, 2010
I was 17 and almost 2 months pregnant when I first found out. Of course I was shocked and worried like any other teenager would be. I wasn't afraid to tell my boyfriend, who I am still in a long-term relationship with. He wasn't angry or upset and simply told me he wanted to keep it. I felt differently though and I immediately seeked abortion for my own personal reasons. My boyfriend respected my decision and we started looking into the abortion. It has been 2 weeks and a day since the abortion and although I still hurt over it, I don't regret my decision. I think about it all the time and I know it is something that will be with me for the rest of my life, but my boyfriend and I are taking it day by day. This has been a very eye-opening experience and it has made me grow up a lot. I am just glad my boyfriend is here and supports me through everything.
