Catherine

It was 1963, before abortion was legal. I was 19 and in a relationship but since no birth control pill was available in those days, I got pregnant. My boyfriend didn’t want anything to do with “my problem.” I couldn’t work more than three months because it was company policy that no pregnant women worked in the office—certainly not one who was unmarried.

“The police wanted to know if I'd had an abortion, and who did it.”

With no place to turn I found someone to do an illegal abortion, it was a nightmare. It cost me over a month’s salary (which I borrowed), and it was done in someone’s house with no doctor. I was lucky to have survived.

Two years later I had hemorrhaging problems and went to a hospital emergency room. They thought it suspicious and called the police. Yes, the police wanted to know if I had an abortion, and who did it. They were going to arrest someone! My doctor sent them away and I ended up having a D&C that I should have had after the abortion.

It’s a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. I’m in my 70s now; I had children and now grandchildren. I never regretted my choice, I only wish it could have been safe and legal.