My boyfriend went with me. We had to tell them what we were wearing and get picked up by a cab. We were driven all over El Paso and Juarez. Completely lost we were taken into a high walled gated structure. We had to bring cash – my semester’s tuition. I gave it to a Mexican man who spoke no English. I had never had a gynecological exam. I stayed in my clothes save my underpants. I was so frightened of dying I fought the anesthesia. I had the D&C awake. They gave me two large tampons to insert and took us back to El Paso. Once back at my home, I started to cramp and bleed profusely. No doctor would see me without a guardian present because I was under 21. I finally told my mom. I was examined but it was too late to really tell what had happened except the D&C was not complete and there was some scarring. When I did decide in my thirties to have children, my damaged cervix was “incompetent”. I did have two healthy women children after several miscarriages, with bed rest and surgical intervention. This is what life was pre-Roe v. Wade. We must not go back there for our future generations. That was the dark ages and they are looming in our future.