the very first time i shared my abortion story publicly in 2012, i wrote "abortion is different for everyone. each abortion is like stripes on a zebra; while on the surface they may seem similar, no two experiences are exactly the same."

"i viewed strength prior to this experience as something in relation to how physically capable you were. i saw it as something only a special few had that it came innately. what i didn’t realize was my strength was uniquely designed for me, and came from a different source.

towards the end of my senior year of high school, i had a casual encounter with a guy that was a little older than me. one thing led to the another and we ended up having sex.

i was 18 in 1968. i had sex for the first time - unprotected because the student health center at my university would not provide birth control without parental permission. when i found out i was pregnant i knew i was not fit to be a parent at that time. i heard rumors of mexican abortions. through friends of friends of acquaintances, i found a "clinic" in juarez mexico.

it all started with the final end of a very rocky relationship. i had finally ended things after a year and a half. it took me 4 weeks to realize i was late on my period.

when my body expelled my iud about three months after its painful insertion, i didn’t even feel it. somewhere at some hour, minute, and second, i joined the few women whose iuds, and with them trust, security, insurance, had vanished.