One Woman's Story

While doing research in Nairobi, Kenya for my Ph.D., I had an abortion. I was involved in a relationship with a man who did not want his baby. Despite my upbringing, my culture, my personal beliefs in the value of life, I aborted my child. A large part of me died along with my child.

For the past 16 years, I have mourned my decision quietly and deeply within my heart. I have not been the full, productive woman I was meant to be because of this decision. I did not finish my dissertation. I shunned children for many years. And I have despised the society that caused me to think, "your body belongs to you." The same American society that told, "it is not a life" lied about the pain that I would experience because I did not have the courage to bear the child I conceived.

It was vitally necessary for me to attend a post-abortion support group. It has given me the opportunity to remember, mourn, and to make peace with my child and myself. These are my experiences. They are real and they are true.

F.C.M.