Hi, My Name Is Zoey.

Hi. I'm Zoey and I had a medication abortion in Nevada in the summer of 2017.

I found out I was pregnant when I was a week late for my period. I took an at-home pregnancy test, and my first thought was, "this can't be happening!" So I took a second test. Maybe they were both false positives. So I took a third... finally, I had to come to terms with the reality of my situation. I really was pregnant. I decided to have a medication abortion because nothing in my life was going well — and that's a gentle way of saying everything was on fire. My grandmother, who’d helped raise me, died. Then her partner followed, shortly thereafter. I watched the second funeral before I'd processed the first. I spiraled quietly, in the dark, while the world spun on without me. Then I lost my job. And somewhere in that freefall, I made a choice: I would not let this life bury me. I left my abusive boyfriend — the prospective father. I gave up my apartment. I sold or gave away almost everything, paring my existence down to a single backpack. I bought a one-way ticket to Europe. The plan: travel for a couple months, clear my head, end with a 4-week TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. A new scene. A new me. Then I missed my period.

I received my abortion pills through a clinic.

From start to finish, the process was more complicated than it needed to be, honestly. By state law, I had to come in for 2 separate appointments and undergo an ultrasound before I was permitted to buy the pills. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for other people to get the time off from work for two doctor's visits, a week apart. And the ultrasound felt just plain emotionally manipulative. I took the pills at home, and I felt immediate relief. The plan to get my life together was back on track. What surprised me most was that I had a rare reaction to the medication. Where normally, a person bleeds for 5-7 days, I bled for a full 28. My body was so drained! But even after all that, I've never regretted my decision.

Because I had access to medication abortion, I was able to reset my life. I traveled, cleared my head, earned my TEFL certification, and got a job teaching English abroad for 7 years. I felt like I'd gotten my life back.

I'm sharing my story because of my medication abortion, I was able to completely reroute my life. I traveled, healed, grew as a person, met my fiancé abroad, and started a new career that I love.

Medication abortion put me in charge of my life. It was difficult, but I would make the same decision again.