“In the summer of 2012, I lived with my boyfriend, Alex. I was in a new city a few hours from home, and mostly isolated from everyone I knew. When we first moved in together, he just had a bad temper. Soon, he was controlling and violent. I feared for my safety every day. In July, he began sexually assaulting me. He controlled the finances, leaving me with very few options. Then, in September, I found out I was pregnant, 10 weeks along. At that point, my only options were to either have a surgical abortion or carry full term. For me, carrying a pregnancy to term meant a lot of complications, and it would only increase his control over me. So I immediately scheduled an abortion for the following week. A girl I didn’t know very well, but trusted, took me. I pretended my paycheck was late, and the entire check went to the abortion. I was able to leave the following week, sneaking out late at night while he was sleeping. A few months later, I started to figure out that I’m transgender, and started transitioning the following year. I also started therapy. If it wasn’t for my abortion, I would have had to stay with him, carried the pregnancy to term, and most likely died from either the pregnancy or his abuse. Instead, I’m happy and thriving in my transition, miles away from him, and completely safe. If I had to, I would make the same choices again, in a heartbeat.”
– Dakota G., Philadelphia
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