I was 17 in the autumn of 1993. I lived in the quintessential “Small Town USA,” and even though my parents knew I was (or had been) sexually active, they were very much against oral contraceptives.

After 5 years of taking birth control pills, I had an IUD inserted when I was about 25 years old. I was very pleased with this choice and had no issues with it until I became pregnant a year later.

I am a 37-year-old divorced mother of two young girls. I live in Ireland, where abortion is illegal. Several years ago I got pregnant unexpectedly by an emotionally abusive and manipulative boyfriend.

When I was 18 I went through a bit of a rough patch, and did not have access to my birth control. I ended up becoming pregnant for the first time.

It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make.

Not long after I was divorced, a friend introduced me to a man, also recently divorced, and we became lovers. I was very vulnerable at the time. I got pregnant by him because we had unprotected sex.