One woman had an abortion at 19. Her boyfriend, who she had been dating for only three months, wanted the abortion:
“When I told him that I was pregnant, he didn’t say anything. He just looked out the window. When I brought it up later he said that there were other options like abortion and adoption…
I had my abortion on August 13, 1998. It’s a date I will NEVER forget.
My boyfriend didn’t come with me to the clinic. He said he had to work. So his mom went with me. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it. But now I wonder if she came not for support, but because she didn’t want me to have the baby, and wanted to make sure that I went through with it… I now wonder why his mom never asked me if this was something that I was sure I wanted to do…
I opted to go to sleep for my abortion. Which by that I should have known that if I was too afraid to be awake, I shouldn’t have been having an abortion, I remember the doctor saying I would be asleep soon. Then they were just talking amongst themselves like what we’re about to do was NO BIG DEAL! …
I was crying… I wish I had jumped up from the table and said “NO! I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND, I WANT MY BABY! I WANT MY BABY!”
But I just let myself fall asleep and I don’t know if I will ever be able to forgive myself for that.”
Quoted in Martha Jensen Abortion: Information and One’s Own Journey (2020)
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