I was 14 when I started “dating” my 18 year old boyfriend. I knew next to nothing about birth control and wouldn’t have thought to ask about condoms even if I did know how to use them. After I fainted at school, it occurred to me that I’d missed my period. The day I told my parents I thought I might be pregnant remains the worst day of my life. I had been raised Catholic and my mother was very observant. Nonetheless, she was the one who insisted that I was not going to ruin my life over an error of judgment made at age 14. She arranged for me to see her OB, who was kind and non-judgmental. He recommended a clinic and both my parents drove me the 2 hours to get there. She held my hand, even as the nurses in the clinic scolded about being more careful. I cried after the procedure, for the pain and disappointment I had caused. But my mother knew it was the right choice then and, as a mother of two beautiful children that I am mature enough to raise, I know it was too.