I have written on this topic several times because it is so important to me. I guess there is a turning point in everyone's life when they truly decide "what they want to do when they grow up."

In my class yearbook, it is noted that I wanted to become a caseworker. And I did. But few know the original reason behind that choice. (I have to alter some things in this story to protect the "guilty" and the innocent.)

As a caseworker, I saw a lot of terrible tragedies involving sexual abuse with children and I have written about them. But when I was working, I was a "professional" objectively handling my caseload.

However, there was an event earlier in my life that led to my choice of that profession.

When I was 12, I had a class mate, "Christy," who was a true friend. When you're twelve, you think you'll be friends forever and nothing will ever tear you apart.

Her mother had remarried, so Christy lived with her mother, her new dad and his 14-year-old son.

Christy seemed depressed to me - although that wasn't a term we knew much about back then. We're talking about many years ago. She missed school a few times and told me her new "brother" was trying to have sex with her. She didn't know how to talk to her mother about it.

I told her she had to tell her mother and, at some point, she did. But Christy was already pregnant. This was before Roe vs. Wade so abortions were illegal in many states.

And young girls just weren't supposed to get pregnant back then. Especially not by their step-brothers.

We lived next to a state that allowed abortions and Christy and her mom went there for her to get one.

Later she told me how scared she was, absolutely terrified. She said there were people outside the clinic trying to stop them from going in. They said things like, "Abortion is murder" and "You'll go to hell for this."

I guess the picketers figured Christy was the pregnant one or the "older lady" wouldn't have had her there. A couple people taunted her and asked how she got that way and why was she going to kill her baby because she had had sex?

Well, if I thought Christy was depressed before the abortion, she became downright suicidal afterwards. Her mother took her to a counselor. A psychiatrist, actually. And that went on for a few weeks before Christy slashed her wrists in her first suicide attempt.

Her mother was frantic. Her "father" never believed the story about his son, and the family was really divided. The boy got into

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Reflections: Abortion?
We want to hear your view. Write now!