All in Three Abortions

“My third abortion happened after my divorce. I meet a guy and we were talking. We seem very compatible and we discussed everything before we even got intimate. This including children and if I get pregnant he would want to be part of the baby’s life. We both had good jobs, income and we were mature. I was 33 and he was 36. There were some yellow flags that turned red in the months I was dating him. I tried to break up with him, but he would ask me to give us a chance.” Read more.

“I know being wanted isn’t a guarantee of a child’s happiness or success, but after I got sober at 25, I went back to school and got a degree in social work. I worked in child abuse investigations for 20 years, and I can’t count the number of children I saw who had been targeted, scapegoated, tortured, and vilified because they were unwanted. The most basic gift we can give children is to be wanted and loved. Every child should have that starting out.” Read more.

“It was when I was seeking my third abortion that I realized I needed real, deep healing around the relationship choices I was making and what they cost my body, as well as some generational trauma I was carrying. My mom was forced to give up her firstborn. She was an immigrant from Peru, experiencing domestic violence, and she gave birth at a Catholic hospital where they didn't speak Spanish. They highly encouraged her to give up her child, which I feel is more coercion when you don't know the language. It's a secret she kept for 31 years, so there's womb trauma on my mom's side.” Read more.

“The last one was over 10 years ago. I’m now almost 60. I’ve had a lot of guilt lately about this all and making the same mistake again and again. I know I did the right thing as the first one made having my beautiful children possible and the last two prevented our lives from being so much more difficult then they already were. Even when I tried to have my first child, the baby died (my miscarriage) so it obviously wasn’t meant to be, just like my other pregnancies that I had to terminate.” Read more.

This person’s call for help was posted on the Instagram account of Shout Your Abortion. What happened next was a huge flood of supportive comments filled with stories of others who have ended their pregnancies. More than 40 people responded with words of care and support. Read more.

“Not once did I entertain having a baby. Sometimes I think about how old they would be now, but not much more. Those 3 abortions were not difficult decisions for me. I have also yet to encounter someone that doesn’t sit with me while I open up and talk about it. To anyone feeling alone, like I did during my first abortion, you are not! You have thousands of people in your corner.” Read more.