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'08 Walk for Life * PICTURES FROM 2006 MARCH FOR LIFE * Pregnancy Centers          About Us Volunteer Donate Home |
So she constructed in her mind "a little fairy tale world where I thought I'd get more love and attention if I was pregnant." But when she became pregnant by a neighbor boy at age 15, a family member, whom she declines to name, pushed for an abortion. Today, Peters, 22, repeats the date of her abortion, Dec. 16, 1993, methodically and bitterly. It was shortly after her 16th birthday. She recalls every detail about that day at the Planned Parenthood abortion facility‹including screaming at the abortion practitioner to stop while being held down by her shoulders. She remembers leaving in pain and being overwhelmed with the sense that more bad stuff was ahead. "How come they didn't tell me this?" she asks today. That's why she supports Amendment 25, "the women's right to know" initiative. While it's too late for her, more information and 24 hours' "reflection" may give the next scared teenager options she doesn't know she has, says Peters. She's now married with two children and a third on the way. Peters said she had no idea of the possible medical and emotional risks. Many came true for her. She became severely depressed and had uterine scarring which, five years later, caused the premature birth of her son, Jereth. Now 3, he's had seizures and faces possible eyesight complications. "I think my life would have been different with more information," she says. "If I had numbers for adoption agencies, or had 24 hours' notice, maybe I could've gotten away from my (family member). But I didn't know I had any other kind of support." She also wishes she knew what her unborn child looked like at 11 weeks, but she says the ultrasound presented to her by the abortion practitioner was done too quickly. When a doctor showed her Jereth's ultrasound at the same stage of pregnancy, she clearly saw fingers and toes. "If I knew, I think I could have stood up to the pressure." Her abortion experience began when an abortion facility employee drew blood, gave her a tranquilizer and asked about her decision. Peters admitted she faced family pressure. "We can't do it if you don't want it," she recalls the employee telling her. She pleaded, "'We have to, I'll be kicked out of the house.' Then the employee said, 'OK, we can do it.' "She had me sign one piece of paper," Peters said. "She knew I didn't read it. She was standing right there. She only asked about my feelings, no medical stuff at all." Next, Peters was shown a video about the abortion itself, something that rarely happens at an abortion facility: "It showed the instruments they used. I remember the words, 'gentle suction' and 'slight pressure,' all these rosy words, everything to make me feel good." Any feel-good sense vanished when the abortion practitioner entered the room with a brief hello, and quickly began dilating her cervix without taking any time to visit with her. Right away, she said, "It hurt so bad I wanted to die. I told him to stop. He looked at me and said, 'I can't.' I kicked, tried to get up. The person in there for support was holding me down. I was screaming, crying, kicking, everything." She's still tormented wondering "whether he could have stopped when I told him to." Not until after the abortion was she given a small booklet called "Facts for Abortion Patients." She recalls reading for the first time about excessive bleeding, possible infection and other dangers and risks associated with abortion. Only then, after reading the book following the abortion, did she learn the name of the abortion practitioner. Today, she's trying to make up for the past by speaking publicly. "I was really young and stupid," Peters says. "I know some women won't want the information and that's their choice. But for pressured 16-year-olds, they'll know they have other options."
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