Member-only story
Abortion Stories: Three Women and a Clinic
Amidst a nationwide debate over the legality and morality of abortion, three women tell their very personal stories.
This story includes interviews with three women who spoke candidly with me in 2006 about their abortions. At the time, only one woman requested that I not use her real name. Because so much time has passed, I have decided to use pseudonyms for all three women and the people they discuss. This is my decision, and I do not wish to imply that they do or should desire privacy.
Most of this research is from 2006. But any time statistics are mentioned, I have included parenthetical updates with the most current statistics we have in 2019.
Each worker has a patient who sticks out in her mind, one who reminds her she’s doing the right thing, that this is a cause worth fighting for. For Katie Stephens, 23, that patient was a 16-year-old who got pregnant the first time she had sex. She was scared when she walked into the clinic, but after the procedure, she was smiling, thanking the workers and giving out hugs. Katie is a clinic assistant and counselor at Bread & Roses Women’s Health Center in Gainesville, Fla., which operates as an abortion clinic every Tuesday and Friday. (Contact the clinic for current schedule.)
