5 Girls Open Up About How Abortion Changed Their Life Forever

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Vero Photoart

Trigger Warning: Abuse, sexual assault, incest, rape.


1. “My older brother had raped my little sister and she had the baby because our family is very Christian and we don’t believe in abortion. When my sister had the baby it had this birth defect that the doctors and geneticist said could of only happened if the baby’s father was someone of such a close relation that it had to have been my brother or father. When my brother raped me, I couldn’t go through with what she did. I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bring something into this world under that circumstance.” — Anonymous from California


2. “I grew up in Syria and we moved in with my grandma who has lived here in the US for nearly 30 years. I was 13 when I moved here without my parents and I ended up getting pregnant by someone who was 18 that went to the same high school as me. I couldn’t have the baby, my family was still struggling in another country and I just couldn’t face having a child so young in such a bad place.” — Hutal, From Virginia


3. “I was 16 at the time and my mom always had such abusive boyfriends. I would watch them beat her and pull her hair all of the time. I grew up watching that. At the time I was just 16 and I knew I didn’t have the money, resources, or education to get fully out of my environment and provide for an infant. I just couldn’t. I had to get an abortion.” Kelsey, From Illinois


4. “I was working for a lobbyist when I was about 22, I knew he did slimy deals with clients, and I knew he cheated on his wife, but one night I went in the office late because he asked to me to print something off for him. When I walked in he was naked and he raped me, I knew he had been wanting a child and the court process is so long and drawn out, I didn’t want to have the baby and have him potentially want to claim the rights as a father. I wanted to get away from him, and I certainly was not going to let a child have that for a father.” — Jennifer, From New York


5. “It was my second year at Stanford. I worked so hard to get in, I genuinely worked so hard. I guess I can only say that I made a mistake, and I completely blame myself. I had never had sex before, I had never even drank, it was my first ever party, it was a frat party, and I had sex with someone from the fraternity. I couldn’t tell my parents, I’m not even sure if they would be bad about me getting an abortion. I guess it doesn’t matter, I just knew I had to. I had to prioritize my success. I know it sounds selfish, but somehow I humbly know that I did the right thing.” — Sarah, From California Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Featured writer since 2014 | Mama | Lover of life, health & growth.

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