I am in medical school, building the life that I want to provide for my future family, something I could have never done had I not had an abortion.

It was the summer before my junior year of college when found out I was pregnant. I was taking a summer organic chemistry course at the time and was blindsided.

Having an older sister that had gotten pregnant at around the same age a few years before, I saw how much she was struggling and how much her life had changed since having the baby. She had to drop out of college, her relationships fell apart, and she was barely making ends meet.

We don't have parents or family in a position to help us with child-rearing. I knew that wasn't how I wanted to bring a child into the world. I was lucky enough to only have to drive an hour from Huntington, WV, to Charleston to get my procedure done.

I was lucky that no protesters were outside harassing me about something I had every right to do. But I still felt ashamed, hearing all those voices in the back of my head telling me that I was selfish.

Now, 4 years later, I look back knowing that it wasn't selfish. I made the right decision by taking my life into my own hands. I am in medical school, building the life that I want to provide for my future family, something I could have never done had I not had an abortion.

I am thankful for the kind nurses and the physician who risk their reputations and sometimes their lives to offer these services to a public that so badly needs it, in a time when so much is uncertain.

Anonymous