Hi, My Name Is Kat.

Hi. I'm Kat and I had a medication abortion in South Carolina in 2023.

I found out I was pregnant when I had a second strange period and had been violently ill for a month, and my first thought was, "Fuck, there’s no way we can have a child when he already has three to pay and care for.” I decided to have a medication abortion because it was the least selfish thing I could do for his kids. Neither of us had money leftover each month paying for his kids’ needs, two rents, two cars, car insurance, student loans, and basic needs. There was no way I could bring a child into this world and it not experience a life of poverty. I didn’t think I could even have kids, so getting pregnant opened a devastating door and one that I had no solutions, money, or family support for.

I received my abortion pills through a clinic.

From start to finish, the process was filled with love, privacy, and empathy. I took the pills at home, and I felt devastated but knew I was making the right choice for a child to not be punished for entering a life where I couldn’t provide for them. Physically, it was not easy but easier to be at home with my friends next to me holding my hands. What surprised me most was because I had access to medication abortion, I was able to learn about myself and my needs to be a better and more well-rounded adult, move to a city where I could get a Master’s Degree, found the love of my life, have been able to build a space where I am now getting ready to bring a child into the world in 6 months, and have a stability that I have never had before. I felt relief, empowered, and strong.

I’m sharing my story because ignoring science, bodily autonomy, and decades of safe medication abortions is idiotic, and a direct threat to people with uteruses lives. Trying to rid the U.S. of medication abortion does nothing but harm us, put people’s lives unnecessarily in danger, and gives clear indications that women are not valued above our ability to reproduce or not. If I had to make this choice again (even if my life was different today), I would make it again one thousand times. It was absolutely the right choice and I have no regrets. Although the time around my abortion was incredibly difficult, chaotic, and unstable, this was the most stable and important decisions I made at that time. I am endlessly happy today that I asked the hard questions and chose to not bring a child into an unstable and hard life.

Medication abortion saves lives and gives us bodily autonomy