Everyone’s Story is Different, Share Yours

After hearing about the ten-year-old girl being raped and impregnated, I feel I must speak out. I was raped by a family member from the age of 5 to 9 years old. It was repeated rapes and there was no way for me to escape this person. Luckily, I was not menstruating yet. Children with disabilities have a much higher incident of rape and sexual...

I was in my 20s, had a 6-month-old baby, and was married to an alcoholic womanizer who was abusive.  The doctor was trying to find a birth control pill that worked for me.  I was trying to find a way out of the marriage for me and my daughter.  Forced sex is one of the worst experiences and then when you find out you are pregnant you feel...

We went to extreme lengths to have our daughter…several surgeries, 4 cycles of IVF, and over $50,000. Last year we transferred our last two embryos and were thrilled to be pregnant! Unfortunately, I began to miscarry. The bleeding began to get heavier, and though my nurse tried to reassure me, I knew it was over. The bloodwork showed high HCG...

It was the summer I turned 20. I was on a scholarship to college and about to start my junior year. I started feeling queasy all the time and noticed my breasts getting swollen and tender so I went to the doctor and yup, pregnant. I was in no way, shape or form ready to be a mother. This was in the mid-70s so I would have had to drop out of...

It was 1969. I was 21. A year later New York would legalize abortion and, of course, Roe arrived in 1973. But I was stuck. The sex was consensual, and we were both equally idiotic about taking precautions against an unwanted pregnancy. So mine is not a story of rape or incest but of youthful arrogance. We were broke college students at an elite...

At age 31, my husband and I discovered that the second child we'd planned for was a cancerous molar pregnancy.  Thus began a 6-month ordeal of two D and C's and 4 months of chemo to rid myself of the cancer in my body and save my uterus to enable me to have more children, which I desperately wanted.  What was the darkest time in my life was made...

It was 1971  and abortion was illegal. I was a 19 year old virgin found myself pregnant. Yes, a virgin. Without getting into details, you can get pregnant without intercourse. Fortunately in Kansas the university medical center was able perform abortions with recommendations from 3 physicians. I took a train 6 hours with my mom for the procedure....

I was date raped while traveling across the country and didn’t realize I hadn’t had a period. After the positive pregnancy test, I planned a trip to visit some friends in Boston. The clinic was fantastic! Counseling before, kindness all the way through and solidarity of sisters in the various waiting and recovery rooms. The second time was with...

I was the mother of two children and married to an abuser. His brutality was increasing, to the point that he was disabling our phone (this was before cell phones) before coming after me. His violence was more and more focusing on my neck. I knew that if I didn’t get out and away he would eventually kill me and my children would be motherless. I...