The Pressure to Choose Abortion in Today’s Society as a Teen

Grace Sommerville

Grace Sommerville

It was a Monday after school in the spring when I bought three at-home pregnancy tests and took them at a friend’s house. Seeing all three appear to have two lines made my whole world change.

“I am a senior in high school and graduate in three months.” “We just broke up last week.” “We never had unprotected sex, what happened?”

My mind was thinking about so many things at once. I went to work, and my thoughts were  running a mile a minute. I could not decide if I wanted to get back together with him for the baby or if I needed to do it by myself. Adoption also crossed my mind. There was a couple at my church who have been trying to adopt and have their own kid for seven years. The couple has always had bad luck, but then I realized I would not want to see my daughter every Sunday.

The whole time I was going through the pregnancy and going to crisis centers, I was never asked if I would need help with the baby or if I wanted to look at adoption and meet a family who would be interested. It was always, “do you want an abortion?” “Have you thought about abortion?” “Planned Parenthood is only 23 minutes away, I’ll go with you for support.” “Yeah, it can be expensive, but they have payment plans, you work, right?”

Those were the only questions I was ever asked. It broke my heart every single time. Why was no one offering to babysit, or to pray for me, or saying they would go to ultrasounds with me? The only “support” I got was people offering to drive me to get an abortion, hold my hand during the procedure, and give me a shoulder to cry on.

Why does society see a married couple with an unplanned pregnancy and tell them they will have to adjust to having one more member of their family, but the couple is shunned if they choose abortion or adoption, even if the baby will completely change their lives at a very bad time?

Why does society see a young teen and jump straight to offering abortions and scaring the young girl into thinking a baby will ruin her life forever and bring her living hell? Why could society not see me as strong and brave for gathering a new plan for my future and telling me strong uplifting phrases and I could do anything?

I mean is this not 2018, when  “women can do anything” and “feminism is strongly needed”? So why are people telling me I cannot possibly be thinking of doing what I was made to do, which is bear children?

It does not make any sense. I was sick and heartbroken each time someone offered such a horrible, painful, cynical, and murderous procedure like it was Advil for a headache. Seeing and experiencing the pressure to have an abortion is exactly why I stand against abortions, why I joined the Human Defense Initiative, and why I choose to spread the word that abortion should never be an option. I would never think to kill my baby girl no matter how unplanned she was, and neither should you.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Human Defense Initiative.

+ posts

The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Human Defense Initiative.

Grace Sommerville

Grace Sommerville

COMMENTARY

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL