I was 16 years old—and so young. Of course, at the time I didn’t think so. I was in love, or at least I thought I was. Like many young girls, I had a difficult time making good choices, and unfortunately I didn’t have many adults around to help me with that. Both of my parents suffered from substance abuse issues, and my mother also suffered from mental illness.

He was working at the local theater when I met him, and I fell hard and fast. One thing led to another and before long, it became apparent that we were going to be sexually active. I was the oldest girl out of seven children. I knew enough to know that I didn’t want to get pregnant. Luckily for me, Planned Parenthood was available and I was able to get contraception.

The woman who did my examination recognized right away that I was very naive. She took extra time to explain without being judgmental. I really didn’t even understand basic information about my body or how pregnancy occurred. Given my obvious misunderstandings, had I not had access to Planned Parenthood, an unintended pregnancy could very easily have happened.

Given my obvious misunderstandings, had I not had access to Planned Parenthood, an unintended pregnancy could very easily have happened.

Looking back now, that would have been an immense tragedy. I finally did have a child later, when I was married and prepared. This was fortunate, because I discovered after he was born that I am a carrier of a genetic defect, with a 50% chance of passing it onto my children. My son is severely handicapped and has required thousands of dollars in medical care and immense patience. I can’t imagine what I would have done at 16. Thankfully, Planned Parenthood was there.