My name is Mindy Radabaugh, and I am a 22 year old college student from Ottawa, Ohio. A few years ago, I was a believer that abortion was wrong. I was always taught that abortion was something horrible. I couldn’t imagine anyone who would be willing to make that decision. I believed that if you weren’t responsible enough to have a child, you didn’t need to be engaging in sexual behavior. I believed all of that, until the day it happened to me.
I changed my mind on January 3, 2009, when I found out I was pregnant. 23 days earlier, on my 19th birthday, I became a victim of sexual assault. I had been on birth control since I was 12 to try and fix other reproductive problems, but since I moved to school and began supporting myself, I could no longer afford the $75/month to pay for my birth control. So, when I was assaulted, I was not protected against pregnancy.
On top of the many emotional problems I was facing after the assault, I was in a lot of physical pain. I had my suspicions so I took a test and it was positive. While I knew it was a possibility, the pregnancy was still a shock to me and I knew that carrying to term would not be an option for me at that point. Due to the many reproductive health problems I faced, I was well aware of what I would face as an expectant mother. I would be considered a “high risk” patient and have to go in for ultrasounds every other week. Co-pays are expensive. I wouldn’t be able to afford it. I would also need to be on special medications that would have totaled almost $100/month.
The night I was assaulted was one of the scariest, most horrible nights of my life. To have a child through something like that would be devastating for me. As much as I would have loved that child, I would have never been able to give it the life that it deserved. I would never be able to look at it and love it fully knowing how it was conceived. There would be too much pain.
After I found out about the pregnancy and before plans were made for my abortion, I had heavily considered suicide. I was depressed. I was scared. I had no one I could tell. I would have rather died than carry the child of my rapist. I have never regretted my decision to have the abortion. I was comforted by the wonderful nurses at the clinic and saw a counselor there for several months after the procedure to help me cope. It was one of the best medical experiences I have ever had. I have never felt more compassion or kindness from a physician and their staff.
Because of the abortion I was able to continue school. I will be graduating in August from my university cum laude with a degree in visual communications. I have a job and I pay taxes, actually making money for the country, not costing it money as I would have if I had become a mother at 19.
Instead of banning abortion, why not focus on education and prevention? Educate our young people about safer sex. Encourage contraceptive use. Focus attention on protecting our women from rape and incest.
This bill is harmful to the health and well being of all women. I urge you to please consider women like me; women who need access to safe and legal abortion.
