Episode 12: The Things No One Told Me: A Young Person’s Abortion Story

A young person facing an unexpected pregnancy should not have to learn about abortion care through fear, misinformation, and frantic internet searches.

Yet that is at the heart of the newest episode of Choice Chat, The Things No One Told Me: A Young Person’s Abortion Story.

In this deeply personal account, a young woman describes becoming pregnant while still in high school. She knew she did not want to continue the pregnancy, but she did not know what abortion access actually looked like in Canada. She wondered whether she needed parental permission, whether she had waited too long, and where she could safely turn for help.

She reflects on the things she had never been taught about consent, contraception, and reproductive healthcare. By the time she found reliable support, some of her options had disappeared. An abortion doula helped her find care and reminded her of something she had not heard from anyone else: she was not alone.

Her story challenges a common assumption about abortion narratives. The abortion itself was not what she regretted. What stayed with her was the isolation, the misinformation, the family rejection that followed, and the difficulty of extending compassion to herself.

This episode raises an important question: how many difficult experiences could be less frightening if young people were given clear, accurate, and age-appropriate information before they needed it?

Reproductive choice and safety depend not only on whether care is legally available, but on whether people know their rights, understand their options, and can find trustworthy support when they need it.

Listen to the episode now.  Choice Chat.