At 14, How could I decide
Source: forced to abort
Gaylene, "Every Tuesday A scheduled bus picked up students and took them to the Planned Parenthood clinic. School Counselors arranged the visits. It was all so organized…Still today. I feel like I did not decide to have the abortion…I was only 14…The nurse said this was not the time to be asking questions, that I should have asked them sooner."
Forced Abortion in America, Portraits of Coercion
Elliot Institute
My mother made me get an abortion
Kara: "I was 14 years old when I became pregnant. I didn't want a baby, but when I found out I was happy. My mom didn't feel that way though. She made me get an abortion. My baby was 8 weeks. I was so depressed and regretful. A few months later I became pregnant on purpose to fill that empty space in my heart for my other baby. I am now 4 months along, and I'm expecting a boy. I do not promote getting pregnant. You're always sick. Everything on your body hurts, and you're always tired. It's already expensive before the baby comes with all my doctor visits. The 18-year-old baby's father is no longer with me, so I have to raise the baby separately."
TeenBreak.com
I didn't have anywhere to go
Ashylygh: "I was 14 when I got pregnant. I thought that I really wanted a baby with the boy I was "in love with." However, we broke up; and he said that he didn't want anything to do with me. Then I missed my period and didn't know what to do. When I finally told my mother she threatened to put me out of the house. I didn't have anywhere to go, and I was scared to go to a shelter, so I had an abortion. It was the worse mistake I ever made. It was not worth all of the pain."
TeenBreak.com
I didn’t have any choice
Tonya: "The counselor at the clinic didn't counsel me at all. The only thing she asked me was whether or not I was sure I wanted to do it. I told her I didn’t have any choice. I had the abortion and I haven't been the same since. The guilt and agony of that nightmare goes on. There's not one day that goes by that something doesn't return to haunt me. I finally got the courage to tell my mother a few months after the abortion. It was very difficult. I was afraid she'd say, "I told you so." She didn't though. She was very understanding.I realize now the mistake I made."
TeenBreaks.com
Everything inside me was yelling, "No! No! No!"
Lee: "Everything inside me was yelling, "No! No! No!" But they all advised strongly against my having the child. So I allowed them to control the situation…Inside, my voice was screaming, "Please do not do this!"
Forced Abortion in America, Portraits of Coercion
Elliot Institute
You’ll be kicked out
Sydna: "I dared to hope he might support me in this pregnancy…But one look at his face dashed those hopes. He exploded in anger, " I will tell everyone it’s not mine, and I will not allow my parents to help you. Your mother will have a nervous breakdown…The school doesn’t allow pregnant students so you’ll be kicked out. You’ll be on your own! It doesn’t look like you have much of a choice."
Forced Abortion in America, Portraits of Coercion
Elliot Institute
No one helped me
Jane: " My mother arranged my abortion. She didn’t like my boy friend and wanted to protect "my reputation." Our pastor had assured her that having an abortion was fine. No one helped me."
Forced Abortion in America, Portraits of Coercion
Elliot Institute
I said, "NO", They did the abortion anyway
Tiffany: "I had four abortions. I was fourteen when I had my first abortion. When I got pregnant, I told my mother right away. I did what I was supposed to do. I knew she would be upset, but I never thought she would make me get an abortion. We're Catholic. One morning she woke me up early and told me to get ready. She told me I had an appointment for an abortion. I couldn't believe it. I did what she said, but when I got to the abortion clinic, I cried and begged them not to do the abortion. My mother made such a stink about being poor and not wanting any more babies in the house that they listened to her instead of me.
I said, "NO": They did the abortion anyway. They didn't even put me to sleep. They said it would cost more. It hurt! It hurt, and they didn't even care! My mother, the doctor, the nurse, nobody cared! Dalvon was the baby's father. I loved him and I wanted him to be the father of my children. I never told him about the abortion.
They forced me again: I just got pregnant again with our second baby. I told my mother as soon as I knew I was pregnant, because I never thought she would make me have another abortion. But she did the same thing and it happened all over again. I begged her not to make me get an abortion. No one listened to me. No one cared. I cried all the way home on the bus and I was cramping. Dalvon and I broke up after that. I couldn't tell him about the abortions. I felt bad because his babies were dead and he never even knew he was a father.
The Trauma: "After that I didn't care what happened to me. I partied. I drank. I did crack. I had sex with anyone who asked and I got pregnant again. I waited until I was five months pregnant before I told my mother. She brought me to the doctor and he said it wasn't too late to have an abortion. Why did they keep doing this to me? "I had to go to the hospital that time because I was further along. They put something called saline into me. It was awful. I could feel the baby kicking and fighting. Then the baby stopped kicking and I knew it was dead. I started having labor pains the next day. The pains were awful. I didn't want my mother in the room with me because I thought she was evil. We fought the whole time. I told her to go home. I wanted to have my baby alone. A part of me kept hoping that the baby would be alive and then they'd have to save it.
The pains kept getting longer and stronger. I pushed and then my little boy was born dead. They all left me alone again. No one cared. I cried for about a minute and then I wrapped him in the sheet and put on the light for the nurse. It took fifteen minutes before she even got there."
Post-Abortion review, No One Told Me I Could Cry
Boyfriends force abortions
Mary: "He destroyed my apartment. He told me to "Get rid of it, NOW!" The whole time he cornered me…killing me with his words."
Forced Abortion in America, Portraits of Coercion
Elliot Institute
He said he would kill me if I didn't abort
Holly: " I was about 12 weeks or so when the worst came. He told me if I didn't go get an abortion he would kill me. He actually held a gun to my head. We drove to some place in New Jersey.
To this day I still don't know why I agreed, I think it was fear for my life and my family more then anything. His father was a Doctor and this was the office of one of his friends. It was a weekend and it seemed like there wasn't another person on the planet. I was so scared. I begged and pleaded telling him I wouldn't tell anyone it was his. He just told me to shut up and stop being such a baby; this kind of thing happens everyday. When we got in there I begged the Doctor not to do it. He seemed to ignore me. I cried and begged. I remember having something restraining my arms and that's it. I don't have any actual memories of the procedure itself. The next thing I remember is waking up home in my apartment. Things only got worse from there. I bled so much I thought I was going to die, and I cried so much I eventually became numb. The beatings got worse. Finally, I got the strength to leave. No one knew about what I went through. I just thought if I didn't talk about it, it didn't happen. .."
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