Jun 15 Jun 15 "I felt and still feel perfectly fine about my decisions to have abortions, both times." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Sweden “I simply did not want children at that time in my life. I knew that beforehand and I stuck with that decision without faltering or doubting it for a second. Nobody I talked to said anything against it as far as I can remember — but I also didn't care at all what other people thought about it. I was sure about my decision and that was all I needed.” Read more.
Jun 3 Jun 3 "I will do it again until I can be able to support a child’s life in this world." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Location Not Given “I am in med school and it is extremely hard to focus on school and focus on a child as well. I was thinking about my future and having a child at the time just didn’t seem to fit right. So I went on with the plan. Luckily enough I live in an area where abortion is easily accessible and practiced very safely.” Read more.
May 23 May 23 "Both times I felt like this thing was taking over my body, and my body was screaming out to make it stop." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, U.K. “I've never regretted it. My heart goes out to all those who aren't permitted to make that choice as easily as I could. During the days that I waited for an abortion, I felt trapped and unhappy. In the future when I do make the decision to have children, I want to feel joyful that I'm pregnant, and that I choose to have a child freely, safely and happily.” Read more.
May 9 May 9 "These are tears of relief. You have no idea, this is a massive relief." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, U.S. “That abortion gave me the time to meet the person I am spending the rest of my life with, and eventually have our daughter. When our daughter was 5, we wanted to give her a sibling. I was 37 at the time and experienced a number of losses before getting pregnant again. We told everyone — we were so excited — and then at 13 weeks the doctors found chromosomal abnormalities.” Read more.
May 2 May 2 "It was better to talk about my abortions in singular because of the stigma of being judged." ~ "Para mí siempre fue mejor hablar de mis abortos en singu- lar por el estigma de que te juzguen." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Ecuador, Spanish/English “Aborting was my first act of self-love. At 19 I knew that I was not ready to be a mother, I knew that I wanted to study and I was certain that having an abortion was the best option.” Read more.“Abortar fue mi primer acto de amor propio. A mis 19 años sabía que no estaba lista para ser madre, sabía que quería estudiar y tenía la certeza de que abortar era la mejor opción.” Lee mas.
Apr 19 Apr 19 "I am thankful I had the choice on taking care of myself and my family." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Idaho “I am a 25-year-old woman who NEVER believed that I would one day have an abortion, and yet I have now had two. I have no regrets on having two abortions. My only regret is that I have to be so secretive about it. My husband knows, but nobody else does.” Read more.
Apr 3 Apr 3 "We are currently still in university." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Singapore “We did practice safe sex, such as using barriers, my partner did not even ejaculate in. Up till this date, we are still puzzled how we got pregnant. On a positive note, it just means that my partner and I are fertile and we are thankful and grateful for this.” Read more.
Mar 23 Mar 23 "I was going through a bad divorce, trying to support my son on my own, and dating this new guy." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Location Not Given “Everyone should have access to abortion. My life would be so much worse if I had had to birth both children. My son would not have lived the life he lived. The partners involved would not have the lives they have now.” Read more.
Mar 7 Mar 7 "Being forced into becoming a parent makes me want to be an even stronger supportive mother and advocate for abortion access." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Ohio “When I found out I was pregnant, I was in sitting in jail due to a bad situation that turned worse. Jails are full of people who have been criminalized simply for being poor. We’re criminalized for living in poverty and trying to access money to care for our families. My lawyer and family didn’t think I would actually go to jail. But I did, and that’s when I found out I was pregnant. I asked for an abortion, and they said, “That’s not an option while you’re here.” I couldn’t believe it. That’s when I realized I was going to become a parent. The decision was already made for me.” Read more.
Feb 25 Feb 25 "In that moment when I saw that line, I just was so unbelievably horrified." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Australia, Audio “We were thinking of the complexities for the children and the things they were already navigating. And I thought, I just don’t want to be drawn back into a life of having a baby on my breast, and having to change nappies, and sleepless nights. I am finally in this place where I am rediscovering who I am as a woman and I just can’t get back in that cycle.” Read more and listen to the audio version.
Feb 12 Feb 12 "My youngest was only 10 months old and I knew I wasn’t ready, emotionally or financially." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Location Not Given “I felt sad, inadequate and lonely. I cried so much, they decided to push my procedure back, to one of the last appointments that day. I came to terms with it. I went through with it and afterwards, felt relief. The decision had been made and I had to make it for the entire family. I believe in quality of life, not just quantity of life. I don’t regret either one.” Read more.
Jan 29 Jan 29 "Not wanting to be tied for life to an abuser, I once again chose to end the pregnancy." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, North Carolina, U.S. “Both of my abortions were uneventful. I got an appointment, I went to the facility, and then I left. There were no looky-loos, no screaming protestors, no gruesome signs, and most importantly, no trauma and NO REGRETS!!!” Read more.
Jan 23 Jan 23 "My great-grandmother gave birth to eight children and aborted four." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Four Abortions, U.S. “The excessive burden of motherhood my great-grandmother carried had plenty of heart-breaking legacy for us all.”The New York Times ran an article detailing stories of people who had abortions before it was legalized by the now endangered Roe v Wade ruling. Among the comments to the article are these four stories involving people who’ve had more than one abortion. Read more.
Jan 3 Jan 3 "It is normal to need more than one abortion." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Location Not Given “I immediately felt a rush of relief once I felt the pregnancy pass – there was no shame. No guilt. No “what have I done.” Just pure, unadulterated relief.” Read more.
Dec 27 Dec 27 "I always thought that getting pregnant was never something that would happen to me." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, Location Not Given “I realized that my body didn’t ask me permission to get pregnant, it is no one’s fault, and in most if not all cases, it isn’t something that can be controlled. We are human, and we do the best that we can with the resources that we have. In hindsight, I recognize that having an abortion was the best option for me, even if it felt like the only option at the time.” Read more.
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 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.
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 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 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.
