By ANONYMOUS
I remember the day I became an adult: I was 18.
I moved from a country town, right across Australia to a large city. To look for a job, to decide what I wanted to do with my life after finishing school.
I didn’t know many people but I was young, carefree and enjoying meeting new friends and having new experiences.
I met a man and fell for him in a big way. I fell in love; had a fun time, traveling for weekends away, going to clubs and bars. We both worked, he had started a career but I was still deciding what I wanted to be. I worked in cash jobs. Just enough to pay my way and live in the moment.
About 6 months into the relationship everything changed. I missed a period. I purchased a pregnancy test. It was positive. A forgotten pill. A life changing error.
My boyfriend was convinced the test was wrong. The doctor was sure it was right.
I was alone in a new city and scared. My strict Catholic upbringing and personal belief was that I had to have this baby. I didn’t believe in abortion for myself. I had always thought it was something for other people to worry about. Not me. I would never be in that situation.
My boyfriend did not want a baby. He was absolutely sure that we had to terminate.
He would not consider any other possibility.
I went back to the doctor and asked his opinion. He suggested we make an appointment at a pregnancy advice centre for counseling about what we should do. We went along after work one night.