Your Stories
Please note that as these are personal testimonies, gendered language may be used.
Minor edits to stories may have been made for clarification.
All names have been changed.
If you want to share your story, you can do so at Shout Your Abortion.
“I don't have a harrowing story like a lot of women and people with birthing bodies. I was dating my now husband and we were in the process of buying our first home. We found out I was pregnant and it was never a question. I knew an abortion was right for me and he supported me every step of the way. I felt the weirdest combination of shame and pride. Growing up in Arkansas, the word abortion was dirty and shameful. If you knew someone who had an abortion, you never looked at them the same way again. You pitied them and only spoke about it judgemental whispers. But my exploration of Feminism taught me about my intrinsic value as a woman and gave me agency over my body and my decisions, but it couldn't quite overcome the thoughts and emotions that were so deeply ingrained from an upbringing in the bible belt. I had an abortion and I am no longer ashamed. I made this decision for myself and my future and I have never regretted it. I'm a mom now. My first son is 16 months and my second is due in November. I am a mother by choice. I am a mother for choice.”
— Whitney
Denver, CO
“An ex-boyfriend and I found out that I got pregnant early into our relationship and at a young age. We both decided an abortion was the best thing for both of our futures. The closest abortion clinic was LRFPS and everyone was absolutely so supportive from the parking lot to the procedure. No one made us feel less than, no one made us feel like we were making the wrong decision. Thankfully this was before counseling was necessary and a wait period.
I am not one of those stories where I regret it or ponder on it — it is simply something that happened and I was able to move on. The ex-boyfriend ended up cheating on me and although that part was hard (harder than the abortion), I am so much better for it. I am still childless, married, and hoping one day to have a child with my very supportive husband who I know will always be my husband. I am so thankful I was able to make the decision to get an abortion and be fully free of the ex-boyfriend who was emotionally abusive and manipulative. Access to a safe abortion more than likely changed the trajectory of my life. I am terrified at the possibility of this right going away not only for me, but for future women.”
— Anonymous
Little Rock, AR
“I'm donating today because I lived in Arkansas in my late teens and early twenties, and had more than one legal, safe abortion white there. Despite using various methods of birth control, I was apparently very fertile and had multiple unwanted pregnancies. My boyfriend and I were not ready to be parents and couldn't have provided a healthy, happy home for a baby. After some years of maturing, then getting married and moving back to upstate New York (where I'm from and have family) the time was right. Today I'm the proud mother of a young adult who just graduated from college, has a bright career ahead, and actively serves her community. Here in NY, I'm confident she truly has the right to choose what's best for her body and her life. We are fortunate. I hope women in Arkansas will regain the same right very soon. Thank you for the essential work of AASN.”
— SC, Former Arkansan
Little Rock, AR
“I would have once called myself Pro-Life but I disagree with taking away our rights. I was diagnosed with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy in August 2021 during my last pregnancy with my third child. I am, as far as we know, still in heart failure at 28 years old, although I do believe I am recovering...slowly. I was also diagnosed with Postpartum Preeclampsia and my blood pressure is only measured with medication. Medication that I will taking for life. I had gained 65 lbs. during that dangerous pregnancy and 35 lbs. of that had been water retention from my heart, liver, and kidneys failing. It is considered a rare condition and I have even been turned away by the nearest cardiologists. The lack of awareness and testing for this condition already costs women their lives. But for women like myself, it is a high risk to our lives to carry another child. I was dying and suffocating. I had been told that my condition had been deteriorating very quickly and I could have died had I waited another 24 to 48 hours to come in to the ER. I wholeheartedly believe that a woman should have the option not to carry a child as I know the costs can be higher than many are aware of. I cherish the daughter I have birthed and will always do so. However, were I to become pregnant, even being as careful as I have been, I cannot risk dying or worsening heart failure if I am to be here for the children who need me already. It is women who risk their bodies and health. You just cannot force a woman to carry and sustain a child in her womb when she is unwilling or incapable of doing so. There are so many reasons a woman may choose to abort, at the appropriate phase of development, and that should be okay. Whether it be genetics, mental illness, a health condition, a traumatic conception, or a domestic abuse situation. And so on. The government should not be allowed to tell a woman that her reasoning for not carrying a child is the wrong one or an illegal one. It should not be in their political power or authority to have any dominion over a woman’s body.”