“It's understood in our constitution that women are independent adults entitled with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, whatever that means to them. That means that if I feel that carrying a fetus to term impinges on my life and liberty, then I have a right to terminate my pregnancy.” Click the green title to read more.
“The second pregnancy occurred as a result of rape by a stranger, a month after the previous abortion. I was traumatized by the rape and felt terrible about having another abortion so soon after the first one, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was the right thing to do. “ Click the green title to read more.
“My BC methods failed, or I failed to use them properly. Or both. But none of this was a reason for me to be burdened with raising children for 20+ years, in a nation even then strongly averse to assisting mothers with heath care, education, food & housing support, etc.” Click the green title to read more.
“So many people assume that the decision to have an abortion is heavy, but for me it was simply a medical choice. I didn't want children, and there was no heartache about the situation.” Click the green title to read more.
“Today at 66 years of age I don't have to worry about getting pregnant. I can't imagine a world where this option is taken away.” Click the green title to read more.
“My husband passed away when I was 32 and while it still makes me sad, I don’t regret the choice I made and I was grateful to have the choice.” Click the green title to read more.
“My way of living and being had essentially become self-destructive. Abuse can make a different person out of you. A person that even you yourself fail to recognise. After undergoing three abortions in a very short span, my relation with Rahul was spiraling downhill. But it was not before my fourth abortion that I fought myself out of my abusive relationship.” Click the green title to read more.
“There were anti-abortion protesters outside the clinic, and I remember feeling incredibly angry that this group of men were trying to terrorise young women – some of the women looked barely even 14 – in the name of their god.” Click the green title to read more.
“I used to judge other girls who would get pregnant and have babies at 18, and then there I was, in the same boat.” Click the green title to read more.
“I do think about how old they would be from time to time, and they are in my thoughts at times.” Click the green title to read more.
“Some people may find this shocking - but it’s none of their business. My great-grandmother died of an illegal abortion in 1901. My grandpa was an orphan at 18 months old. Safe abortion should be a woman’s choice and right.” Click the green title to read more.
“So after the first time I got the coil put in, and then a year later, almost to the day practically, I got pregnant again, probably because the coil was sitting too low in the cervix, which reduced its effectiveness.” Click the green title to read more.
“So, I was 21 and living in America when I became pregnant by my boyfriend at the time. We were in a very intense and active relationship, and often used the withdrawal method for contraception. But by the time I knew I was pregnant he had left the country, so I went to have a backstreet abortion.” Click the green title to read more.
“It is hard not to write a list of justifications why.” Click the green title to read more.
“We both sat down and decided to have an abortion. Soon after, cracks started to show, but I was so scared of being alone and leaving him after what I had just been through. 7 months later it got worse, the mental abuse started, the blackmailing, the name calling, the outbursts of nasty stuff and nasty words, and then it became physical and I found out I was pregnant. I was so scared because I knew what this boy was, he was evil to me. I was worried about me, my body, the pregnancy, my life and even more so my future.” Click the green title to read more.
Actress and author Karrine Steffans talks about how the stigma of having three abortions silenced her, prevented her from seeking help from her own trusted gynecologist, and caused fear of returning to him to have a baby. “I know he’ll ask why I didn’t come to him, and I know I might be afraid to admit that I didn’t want him to think less of me — because that’s just silly, isn’t it?” Click the green title to read more.
“I came from a teenage mother myself. My mom was 14 when she had me. She didn’t want to have me, she didn’t want to be a parent — but she had no choice. I think about what I would look like as a parent in that situation, having a child who knew they weren’t wanted the way I knew I wasn’t wanted and I can’t imagine doing that. I think a lot of people think about the choice to have an abortion as a selfish one, but for me, the choice to not have one would have been the selfish one. A child deserves to be parented.” Click the green title to read more.
“What having two terminations doesn’t mean is that I am a stupid person, that I am useless, that I should be shunned by society, suffer punishment or live the rest of my life in a state of trauma. It also doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve to be loved. It was not easy for me to accept that. I have made these judgements about myself, consciously or unconsciously, at one time or another, in the five years following my terminations. I don’t want you to do the same.” Click the green title to read more.
Elizabeth says she envies the ‘free rhetorical space’ in the anti-abortion movement, where people who’ve had multiple abortions can talk openly about their experiences, as long as they frame their stories to punish other people who’ve had abortions.
“In my culture, talking about sex and birth control is forbidden. There’s an unspoken rule about sex – don’t have it. I had to find resources and answers to my questions on my own. . . . When I sought out resources I came across Aid for Women, a crisis pregnancy center that gave me misleading medical information and basically tried to talk me out of my abortion. It was incredibly belittling and hurtful.” Click the green title to read more.
