Abortion Stories Library
The healing is in the sharing. Both personally and politically.
Dare to bear witness. Dare to be heard. Add your voice to the chorus.
Aftermath Story
I had my abortion some 50 years, right here in Idaho. It was not easy or particularly safe but it was necessary, efficient and successful. So many of the details have been blocked or forgotten or expunged. But it was available, thanks to Roe v. Wade.
1977 Story
I KNEW what the right choice for me was.
I wish I would have understood more, sooner.
It was such an eerie feeling to now be in those shoes as a pregnant woman.
I need you to get to Salt Lake as soon as possible
The doctor comes in and just has this... blank stare on his face, “We need to have a pretty difficult conversation.”
Saved from a much-diminished life
The abortion saved me. It saved me from a much-diminished life. And I think about that often.
No option that led to a healthy baby
This feels like a really scary time to be pregnant in Idaho.
1979 Story
Forty-six years ago I had an abortion. The right to a legal abortion was only about six years old and I was the first person I knew who decided to terminate a pregnancy.
Tumultuous Relationship
I never regretted that decision. My boyfriend was incredibly insecure, jealous, controlling and abusive.
Overturned, Episode 2
“I NEED you to get to Salt Lake as soon as possible”
When this family faced a heartbreaking pregnancy complication, they expected compassionate care close to home. Instead, Idaho’s restrictive abortion laws forced them to travel out of state for medically necessary abortion care, turning an already devastating experience into an unimaginable trauma.
A little medical issue
I just said “oh I had a little medical issue" and had to go to Washington.”
Committing a crime
They diagnosed my Buddy with acrania: the brain essentially disintegrates in the amniotic fluid.
Himself
It’s my body going through this, and yet my support is only concerned with himself.
Selfish
When I hear people say abortion is selfish, it cuts deep.
Dangerous Word
Because abortion has always been a dirty word. And after the fall of Roe v Wade, it was also a dangerous word. My partner was afraid someone would try to hurt me if we told people.
Parents
You don’t remember me, but you helped me 30 years ago when there was no one else and no other place to go.
The truth hurts
In a final, desperate attempt, I hurled myself over the back of a chair. I bled.
Traveller
I am so relieved that I was not forced to be tied to him for the rest of my life for the sake of a baby that neither of us really wanted.
I put myself first
Despite what others may feel about my decision, it was all mine.
ABN’s Story
She died after the procedure and her death certificate says that she died from ‘septicemia following after an abortion.’
What are men scared of?
The job was botched. She bled to death in three, maybe four days. She was thirty-three years old.
Physician Stories
