FORMER WOMEN OF CHOICE

No one would ever know, the clinic promised, but the abortion took her life and everyone knew.  It wasn't supposed to end that way, but her boyfriend cried when she never got out of recovery and the nurses called him in at the end of the day.  They said it would take only a hour or so, but now she would never walk out of the abortion clinic.  He cried as the family learned she was gone.  Her family sued the clinic, but it never brought back their daughter. 

Mandy was very much in love with her boyfriend.  Mandy became pregnant and the young couple were thrilled, but Mandy's mom dragged her to the doctor and an abortion was preformed against Mandy's wishes.  Mandy begged the doctor to stop, but he didn't.  Their love baby was gone.  Tears. The boyfriend felt helpless and angry.  A few years later Mandy and her boyfriend got married.  The same doctor who did Mandy's abortion years ago now showed a married Mandy photos of the unborn baby's development.  Mandy cried for her first baby who was aborted against her wishes.  They had two sons, but never forgot their first baby.  Mandy now is involved with abortion recovery groups, having found healing and hope. The husband never got over the pain of his first child's death and was angry and damaged.  After the boys grew up, he left the marriage.

Denise was thirteen when her parents took her to the abortion clinic.  They demanded she never speak of it again.  Years later, on her honeymoon, Denise became pregnant.  She desperately wanted to have a baby.  She joined an abortion recovery group and was working through the grieving process so she could bond with her new baby.  She thought her husband would be disappointed to learn of her prior abortion.  Instead she learned that he, too, had paid for an abortion for a former girlfriend. Today Denise has three lovely children and has a joy for living and encouraging other young moms.  She has named her first child and made a small personal memorial in her home for the lost baby.  Her parents still refuse to talk about it.

Cheryl flew to New York in 1970 for a safe and legal abortion. She returned home only to find a few months later that she was still pregnant.  She returned to have the second child, a twin son, aborted.  She was devastated.  An elementary school teacher, she and the birthfather would have married had they been told they were having twins.  But no one at the abortion clinic revealed the information to Cheryl.  Instead, they broke up.  Cheryl remains unmarried and continues having difficulties with relationships today.  She finds it difficult to trust men, doctors, health professionals, and close relationships.

Lynn was a college coed.  After the abortion procedure she passed a piece of the baby's hand in her dorm room.  She was terrified and had resulting nightmares and trauma.  Lynn would hear a baby crying in the night.  After several years of depression she sought professional counseling and was referred to an abortion recovery group to help her deal with her issues.  Today she is working and when asked if she has any children, Lynn will reply, "Yes, I had a beautiful daughter, but she died before she was born."  Lynn remains single and has no plans to ever marry.  She has a peace and resolution about the baby she lost and the dreams that died, but she is able to live a fairly happy life today.

Karen's abortion was illegal.  It was the only choice she had at the time.  It was 1969 and she was 12-13 weeks pregnant.  The campus doctor gave Karen a phone number for someone in the underground abortion movement. Her boyfriend broke their engagement, she felt she had no other choice after the quainne did not work and she was too afraid to commit sucide.  It didn't cost her a penny, but she agreed to pass on the secret information to other coeds in need, even driving a few to the undisclosed location in Canada.  Fourteen years later when a co-worker at her work site became pregnant, Karen began to go home, lay on her bed, and cry.  Weeks later she realized she was crying for the baby she never had.  She opened a women's pregnancy center in 1984, providing information and services to women and families dealing with crisis pregnancies.  She was determined that no other woman should have to endure the heartache and pain because the campus doctor never gave her any other referrals for adoption, counseling, or supportive services. 

Joy was a high school student who had an abortion with the consent of her parents.  Afterwards she had dreams of the aborted baby - and began to care for her Cabbage Patch like it was a baby.  Her mother called the local pregnancy care center looking for help.  Joy completed an abortion recovery group, along with a friend of hers who had also aborted a baby, and they loved the journal and wrote poems about what their babies would have been like, had they lived.  Both the girls spoke to other girls in their high school and encouraged them to give birth to their babies.  Joy and her mother recognize today that the abortion messed up their lives, but have found forgiveness and hope.  They say adoption would have a better choice for Joy and the family.  Joy is now enrolled in college, determined to obtain a nursing degree.

Laurie had two abortions while a teenager.  Unable to maintain healthy relationships, especially with the young men in her life, she sought help.  Friends had helped her to see the destructive lifestyle she had fallen into and wanted to help her stop hurting herself.  They went with Laurie to an abortion recovery support group to find help.  Today Laurie is working through some of the anger and hatred she has experienced as a result of her abortion, finding renewed strength to deal with her anger rages.  She is currently in the recovery process and has asked for additonal counseling to deal with her issues.  With the help of her friends, Laurie is feeling much better about herself and is rooting out the destructive issues in her life.  She has several phone numbers of friends she can call for help when needed.

Janie's boyfriend abandoned her after the abortion.  Janie felt alone and scared and began drinking too much in an effort to forget the pain.  One of her business associates found her sitting alone in a bar, depressed and crying.  The associate made sure she got safely home, then gave her the number of a help line the following day at work.  Janie was encouraged to seek help at a women's pregnancy care center.  Its been several months now and Janie is doing much better -and making new, positive friends.  She continues to participate in support group activities and quit drinking. She hopes to become healthy again and get married someday and have a family.

Lori Lou was on the abortion table when the doctor held up her aborted fetus to her face and said, "I guess you'll never want to have another abortion."  His cruel, unprofessional behavior was never reported to authorities, but Lynn was left with reoccuring nightmares of the bloody little body of her child.  It was a "safe, legal abortion" that left her scarred for life.  She has been unable to forget it.

Marcy worked as a counselor in an abortion clinic until one of her patients died from execessive bleeding after her abortion.  Marcy had seen women in distress before, but they always pulled through.  This time it was different and the abortionist quietly removed the woman, while continuing on with his busy practice.  Marcy could not forget how easily this patient was neglected, then disposed of without any other clients aware.  It was the blood soaked sheets Marcy was asked to dispose of that made her turn in her resignation that day and walk away.  Marcy always thought she was helping women, but not any more. 



It's time to hear our stories - and how we dealt with one of the most intrusive, abrasive experiences of our lives by those who promised to help us.  Some of us were left with physical problems, others of us have unseen scars we carry for the rest of our lives.

                          Abortion gave women the choice, - now hear their voice!  
                                                         I made the choice, now hear my voice!
                                                                             Ask the Women who Know.