Samantha's Choice

     Samantha sat on the hospital bed the morning of March 15, 2007. She put her hand on her belly and fell the life she had already got accustomed to feeling the past three months. She shed a tear as she whispered, “sorry.”

Abortion has been one of the most controversial topics in America, next to gay marriage and divorce. Some people are against it for religious reasons, while others feel women should take care of their responsibilities and stop looking for the easy way out. No one has the right to choose who lives or dies, but what if your life is at risk? Can you choose to save yourself?

     At age 18, Samantha moved out of her parents’ house. She and her cousin got an apartment together, and shortly after, she met her boyfriend. Seven years older than Samantha and very established, he showed her a life she wasn’t used to. Showering her with gifts and taking her to five star restaurants became the routine. It didn’t take long for Samantha to be blinded, and two months before her lease was up, she moved out of her apartment and in with her boyfriend.  That’s when things started to change.  She said, “I would come home and he would accuse me of cheating.  He would look through my phone… It was almost like I was living with a stranger.” She explains how he would go out all night and when he would return home, he would take his aggressions out on her. 

     Five months after being together, Samantha was emotionally and physically scarred. She didn’t feel like anything worse could happen to her, until she never got her period. She said she felt “trapped like my world was coming to an end.  A year ago, I was graduating high school and hanging out with my friends… Now, I’m living with an abusive, controlling maniac, who won’t let me use the bathroom alone.” As the weeks went on and her pregnancy became more of a reality, Samantha knew she had to get away before he discovered she was carrying his child. The night before Samantha planned to leave, she said, “we got into a huge argument because I wouldn’t tell him who I was on the phone with. I remember him choking me and when I woke up he was gone. I packed and left too.”

     Samantha remembers her abortion every day, but she does not regret her decision. She said, “I feel like I have second chance. I could not imagine still being in that situation with a child.” She said, “he would have controlled me for the rest of my life. Now, I have a chance and a promising future.”  Samantha is back at home with her parents and attending college for Law. Reflecting on her past she said, “I feel bad to have taken a life, especially one that I created, but I feel if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here today.” She says, “I am an advocate for young women in abusive relationships because I got away.”

     Women are killed every day in abusive relationships. The product (children) of those relationships usually suffers from the loss of one or both parents being gone. The women, who actually have the strength to leave, have nothing and are forced to start over, while living their lives in fear. Samantha made a choice that will burden her forever. I believe many women should make the same decision if their life depended on it