Jan 6 Jan 6 "These decisions are so personal, and so justified, no matter the reasons or circumstances." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Unknown “Fast forward 3 years, my then boyfriend, now husband and I had been married for 3 months, and conceived our beautiful baby boy, planned, and we were ready to parent. When our son was 8 months old, I fell pregnant again. Not ready, physically, emotionally (postpartum depression hit hard) or financially, we decided the most responsible decision for our family was to terminate the pregnancy. This, unknowingly, would cause even more stress on an already stressed marriage.” Read more.
Nov 25 Nov 25 "I made the best decisions I could, with the information I had at the time." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, U.S. “I had no idea that there were others out there like me. I just considered myself to be an awful person with no ability to make good decisions . . . unsupported, isolated and alone.” Read more.
Oct 23 Oct 23 "It was the gift of abortion that helped us plan our family." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Oklahoma, U.S., Men's Experiences, Partner Experience “Love and kindness to all the women who have had an abortion or will have an abortion. I am a 38 year old male, and I have been married for 16 years now to a lovely woman, and we ourselves have chosen abortion on two different occasions.” Read more.
Oct 15 Oct 15 "I chose to heal myself instead of raise children with a broken parent." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Unknown “Each time I know I made the right decision and I’ve never regretted it.” Read more.
Sep 24 Sep 24 "I felt like the most relieved, blissful person in the world afterwards." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, U.S. “I do not regret a single thing. I would be pregnant with my 3rd child right now and that’s exhausting to even think about. I want to continue my education. I want to travel with my boyfriend. I promise that it’s not always feelings of grief and loss — although that’s okay — but more of a wake up call surrounded by relief and excitement for the future.” Read more.
Sep 15 Sep 15 "A lot of women I've spoken to have also had more than one and this is not uncommon." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Australia “The clinic I chose was absolutely brilliant in every way and I was so thankful that in Australia we don't have crazy right-to-lifers picketing at those clinics here. In some states a boundary law prevents this anyway. That said, I would not wish an unplanned pregnancy on any woman. But I would hope that should she be faced with that situation, that abortive services are accessible , free and on demand. I hate that this is still a dream but I will keep fighting for a woman's right to choose not matter what her situation.” Read more.
Sep 9 Sep 9 "We've got daughters and I can't imagine ever forcing them to go through a pregnancy they don't want." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Missouri, U.S. “The 2nd time I had an abortion was when I was 30. Just last year actually. Me and my newly married husband already had 4 kids all together . Our youngest was 3 and I just mentally and physically couldn't handle another kid. Here I am now, 31. Close to a year since my last medication abortion and now I have to get another one. But this time I was taking my birth control EVERY DAY and i still got pregnant. I’m so mad. I was being so careful.” Read more.
Sep 1 Sep 1 "All three times I have been failed by my contraception." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Unknown “I will not apologize. I want to be the best mother I can, and right now, I can’t. I can’t apologize for putting myself first. You don’t need to either. Abortion is a medical, not moral issue.” Read more.
Jul 23 Jul 23 "I kept reading on every single clinic’s website that 'abortion is never an easy decision.' Sometimes it is! " Sharing Truth Three Abortions, U.S. “After my third child was born and my husband and I agreed that our family was complete, I thought if I did get pregnant that I would have a hard time with the decision to terminate. I’ve always got baby fever! I had relatively easy pregnancies and births! I love the newborn phase!!! As soon as I saw that perpendicular line, any worries about being bummed went out the window. I was annoyed that I had to be dealing with this on top of everything else, but I firmly didn’t want to be pregnant right now, and didn’t want to add another to our family anyway.” Read more.
Jun 28 Jun 28 "I am the controller of my life and not a pawn in a political debate." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, U.S. “I think a true monster is someone who has a child and abandons it, leaving the child to feel damaged and discarded. I believe the current US regulations on legal abortion are an unnecessary burden to women based on price, time and loss of dignity. I feel that the government has more control over my body than I do. I truly grieve for the millions of women in other countries who do not have 1/100th of the freedoms that I have. I was sure and confident about all of my decisions.” Read more.
May 6 May 6 Podcast ~ Listen to actor Alyssa Milano and artist Amanda Palmer talk about their experiences of having more than one abortion. Sharing Truth Audio, Two Abortions, Three Abortions, U.S., Scotland "The hardest part of that whole day wasn't the procedure,” says Amanda Palmer, “it was actually the walk from the car to the clinic where I had to walk the gauntlet of angry, rageful, judgmental protestors." Says Alyssa Milano, “I was raised Catholic and was suddenly put in conflict with my faith — a faith I was coming to realize empowered only men to make every single decision of what was allowed and what was not allowed. I had a career and a future and potential.” Listen.
Apr 20 Apr 20 "I’ve had an abortion more than once." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Malawi “The first time I felt very bad to the point of depression and I was hospitalized. The second time I was raped.” Read more.
Apr 15 Apr 15 "I guess my approach to each of them has been totally different — my feelings and my reactions." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Cuba “I was so naive. I told my mom, "You know. I haven't had my period in a while now. I don't know what's happening." Of course she didn't know I was having relationships, so when the doctor told her, "You are going to be a grandma," my mom looked at me and she was like, "Oh my god. What is going on here?" She did not talk to me for a couple of weeks. She was so upset with me.” Read more.
Mar 23 Mar 23 "At first I was excited about becoming a mother but later realized I cannot afford to take care of a baby at that time as both of us were not working and that would mean burdening my mother." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Zimbabwe “My boyfriend was there and he was very supportive, but I resented him leading to our break up because at one point he told me I killed his child. In April 2019 I fell pregnant, but I was on the pill and it came as a surprise largely because I was being safe from the first pregnancy up to that time. I was so scared of falling pregnant again since the first abortion took a toll on me and it took time for me to recover from bitterness and to forgive myself.” Read more.
Mar 14 Mar 14 "There wasn’t a lot of drama, just an ordinary story." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Unknown “I had three abortions, one when I was 18 and it was still illegal, one when I was 24, and the last one when I was 29. By that time I wanted a child but felt that my then partner would be a disaster as a father and I didn’t want to be a single mother. Eventually I met the right man and had a wonderful daughter.” Read more.
Feb 28 Feb 28 "This time is different, because I have chosen not to hide the actuality of what is going on in my body. " Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Unknown “I do not feel ashamed to admit that I am pregnant. I do not feel ashamed to say that I am going to have an abortion. Part of me worries whether or not they will think of me differently for it, and quite frankly that anxiety was what was keeping me from realizing that I was letting myself be blinded by them. But their opinions are not mine to harbor. I give myself the freedom to choose abortion and to always do what is best for me. I have an appointment scheduled a week from today, and while I still let myself wonder what it would be like to continue the pregnancy, I remind myself that there is still time for me to have a child in the future. This is the definition of family planning.” Read More.
Feb 25 Feb 25 "The idea of never living for myself and just dealing with perpetual poverty was incredibly depressing." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Location Unknown “I have a long and complicated medical history, much of it centered around my uterus. I've been labelled infertile, and been declared fertile again. I've been pregnant seven times despite all of this, with one living child, who took me years to conceive and carry. Because of my ongoing problems and the insane ability to get pregnant even on several forms of birth control (each terminated pregnancy happened despite being on the pill, condoms, and/or spermicide), this was my last straw. I'm getting sterilized. Read more.
Jan 18 Jan 18 Podcast ~ "The thing that made it hard was that I didn't have enough money for more children." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, New York, Audio “Here I was 30, with four children. I did the math and I said I cannot afford financially to have another child. So I had my second abortion. It was more painful because I did something that I said I would never do again. However, within 11 months I was pregnant again. It was money that drove my decision.“ Listen.
Nov 22 Nov 22 "It wasn’t the abortions that traumatized me; it was the secrecy, shame, inability to grieve, and the alienation." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, Ireland “Normally, when someone dies, the clan gathers, food is brought, sympathy is offered. Normally, death bonds people. Because it’s cloaked in secrecy, abortion separates, worse, it alienates. Grief is not meant to be a solitary experience. When grief is experienced alone, it’s traumatizing. Despite the sadness, I never doubted that ending my pregnancies was best for everyone involved. I’d be lying if I told you I never thought about my unborn children and the life we might have had together. But those thoughts don’t torment me.” Click the green title to see the whole story.
Nov 18 Nov 18 "My situation was that I was completely lost in life, with depression and anxiety, and no support or financial means for the responsibility of another life." Sharing Truth Three Abortions, U.S. “At 19 I had left home, was totally lost in life and became pregnant. There were not many support systems then, I had no money, felt panicked, and had an abortion. That year I got into a 10 year relationship with an abusive man. When I got pregnant again, I was terrified of him, being tied to him forever, and the pregnancy, and had another abortion. I used birth control sporadically, but was depressed and didn't care enough about myself to take care of myself. I was not cavalier about abortion, but I was so lost in life.” Read more.
