Client Testimony

"Hi, my name is Stefanie. I am 18 years old, and seven months ago I found out I was pregnant. The day I found out was crazy; first I screamed, then laughed, and finally I cried. I told my boyfriend, Paul, and he was happy about it, which surprised me because I thought he would be angry. That same day we told our parents and they were not happy to say the least. They did say, however, that they would be there for us, but we had a big responsibility on our hands.

A few weeks later, as my dad and I were talking, he suggested I get an abortion. I left for the weekend to my sister's house so I could think about it. When I came back home I told my dad I wanted to keep the baby. He said that was fine, but he still didn't€™t think my boyfriend and I were ready for the responsibility. I just shrugged it off.

A few weeks later, my relationship with Paul began falling apart. I was scared and didn't€™t know what to do. There was no way I could raise a baby by myself. I had nothing.

I decided to break up with him, get an abortion and move back to Wisconsin with my mom. My mom and dad thought this plan was best. Paul and his dad were against this 100%, but I didn't care. I set a date to get an abortion. I was all ready to do this; so I thought.

A couple of days before my abortion appointment, a friend asked me to go to Robbinsdale Women'€™s Center because she thought I was making the wrong decision. I was upset, but agreed to go. When I got there I was very nervous. I got over that real quick because the women at RWC were so nice and none of them put any pressure on me.

Because Robbinsdale Women'€™s Center offers free ultrasounds, I had one done. Paul was with me and it took all we had not to cry when we say our baby. It made everything so real. It made the baby real. I was in my second trimester and the sonographer told me the baby looked like a girl. Wow, a baby girl, what was I doing thinking about having an abortion?

I was still very scared and now I was getting a lot of pressure from my mom to get an abortion. I made another appointment for an abortion and Paul came with me. It was the most awful experience of my life! Everyone at the abortion clinic was rude to us. Other women in the waiting room were acting like it was no big deal at all. Paul looked like he was going to cry, and all I could think about was the ultrasound I had at Robbinsdale Women's Center and the image of our baby girl.

A nurse called my name; it was time to have my abortion. Paul went outside to have a cigarette and I followed the nurse. She took my height, weight, and some blood from my finger, then shuttled me off to another room for an ultrasound.

When I asked to see my baby on the ultrasound screen, the woman refused. I was upset; who did she think she was anyway? She then told me I was 19 weeks pregnant; I was a week farther along than they thought. (Baby'€™s age is determined by measuring the size of the head). She said I had to come up with another $100.00 cash, $700.00 total, within an hour or they wouldn'€™t do the abortion that day. At that moment I decided to keep the baby. These people were crazy!

I had had enough of this rude treatment, so I told the nurse off and I walked out. I felt relieved. This was my baby and I was going to take responsibility for her. I told Paul about my decision and he cried, happy and alleviated that I made the right decision. I knew then that everything would work out okay.

I'm now seven months pregnant. I am really looking forward to the birth of our little baby girl. I'm facing difficult times, but Paul and I are working through them as we build our relationship together.

I give a world of thanks to the Robbinsdale Women's Center. If it weren't for them I wouldn't€™t be having this precious little baby. Thank you for being there!

Note: Stefanie shared her story back in 1999. Her precious daughter, Casey, was born soon after and is now an adorable, seven-year old redhead!. Stefanie and Paul got married shortly after her birth and Lori, one of our sonographers who did Stefanie's ultrasound at RWC was present at the wedding."