She was one of my first abortion patients. We talked about why she was here in my clinic. She said she was here for an abortion. We talked about her medical history, then more about who knew about the pregnancy and what sort of support she had.

She had six children, all of whom were desired pregnancies. She would really like another child; however, was not sure she and her husband could afford another child at this time. “Maybe in six months,” she said. She suddenly started crying. We talked about her options — about her continuing the pregnancy and finding a way to support another child, or adopting the child out. She said she couldn’t do that — if she was continuing the pregnancy, she was keeping the child.

She said it was difficult because she wanted another child, but the timing was off — her husband had been laid off and his current job paid much less. I told her that she had a few weeks to decide what she wanted to do with the pregnancy. I told her that I didn’t think she wanted an abortion today, just yet, and that the best thing I could do for her today was to give her time to consider her options. I let her know that if she was 100% sure that she wanted an abortion today, I would be more than happy to help her. She said that she would like some time to consider her options. She made an appointment to come back and see us, and thanked me as she left. She did not come back, and that is okay because I still did my job as an abortion provider — I gave her options.