Trust Women Week: Alex’s Story

EDITOR’S NOTE: Trust Women Week overlaps with the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and reasserts our firm commitment to reclaiming the future of reproductive decision-making in 2012. Throughout the week, Amplify will be honoring women’s experiences and voices by featuring a different story from The 1 in 3 Campaign January 21-27.

WATCH: 1in3Campaign.org: Alex from Advocates for Youth.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

ALEX: I had my daughter and then nine months went past and I got pregnant again. And that was a big shock. And I wasn’t contemplating keeping the baby but this would have been my first abortion and I was very scared. And me and my daughter’s father didn’t have any money. Abortions cost money. A lot of money. $350 is not cheap when you’re 19 with no job and a new baby and the baby’s father is halfway trying to support us.

I ended up calling a friend of my mom’s who had gone through… Who was an older woman, but she related to young people and she knew, you know, certain people who knew certain people who knew certain people who could help me with terminating the pregnancy. So she referred us to a clinic.

And before that, we had to go borrow money from two different family members to get the abortion done. We didn’t even have any money… We didn’t even have any money to get the abortion done, and that’s just… Like, how could we not have any money to do that, but we would have money to raise another one? You know what I mean? Like there woulda just been no way. So that day, we rushed around, we got our money, and we went to the clinic.

I think that women should definitely share these stories – especially if they’re older women and they’ve been through this before. I think knowledge is power. And if no one talks about it, then how are we supposed to know what to do or what to expect?

The 1 in 3 Campaign is a grassroots movement to start a new conversation about abortion — telling our stories, on our own terms. Together, we can end the stigma women face each and every day and assure access to basic health care. As we tell our stories and support our family and friends as they come forward with theirs, we begin build a culture of compassion, empathy, and support. No one should be made to feel ashamed or alone. It’s time for us to come out in support of each other and in support of access to legal and safe abortion care in our communities.

Share the 1 in 3 Campaign videos — or your own story — with three other people. And click here to find out how you can bring the campaign to your campus or your community.

It’s time to start the conversation.