Change Begins With Us

I had an abortion at the age of seventeen.
 
On a cold rainy October day, I entered the very sterile, cold office alone. I handed the secretary my birth certificate with the forged birth date and the fee for the procedure and sat down.  I was told I had to see a counselor before the procedure to discuss my options, but no options were discussed. I was offered birth control for future use.
 
I was put into a hospital gown and instructed to lay on the table and place my feet in the stirrups. I remember my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I was a child alone in a place where no one should ever find themselves.
 
There was a picture of a relaxing beach scene on the ceiling to distract me from the fact they were sucking my child piece by piece out of my womb. The vacuum machine was turned on and I started to move back on the table from the discomfort. The doctor tapped me on my knee and said, "Just relax and be a good girl."
 
And just like that...my baby was gone. My child was dead.  But that was not the end. For years I dealt with the guilt and the loss. Every month, every year...the trauma I brought on myself and my child never left me.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, don't believe the lies you are told. Abortion is everything but a choice. It is an end to any choice. In our deepest place we all know that abortion kills a living human soul.  So, change begins with us, today. We all have a voice...and we can choose to use it. I have chosen to use my voice, and I will be silent no more!