When I was 17, I slipped up on my birth control and found myself 13 weeks pregnant. I was not in the best place in my life, meaning I was using drugs and struggling to get by on my own. I knew the health of the child inside of me would be compromised because of my habits and how late I found out about the child.

At first, I thought I was just gaining weight because of depression and poor health choices. I was not in a good place to raise a child because I was not in a good place myself. Some say that I would have found a way out of that troubled time if I had kept the child, but I say that in not keeping the child, I was able to find my way out alone. I was not ready, and I may never be. But I know that to give a child I bring into this world a better life, I need to be ready and healthy.

The people who helped me through my abortion will always be in my heart. Their emotional support was how I got through, and I am forever indebted to the wonderful people who believe it is a woman’s choice to bear a child or not.

#BecauseOfRoe