By: Luke Hargrove – April 30, 2025

I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was standing in the kitchen, staring at the phone in my hand, wondering if I should make the call. It was a choice I had to make, a decision that I knew would change everything.

My girlfriend, Mia, had just found out she was pregnant. We were both in our early twenties, just starting out in life. We hadn’t even been together for that long, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I was ready to be a father. But at the same time, I knew it wasn’t something I could just ignore. I loved Mia, and I wanted to be there for her.

The call was to the clinic, to schedule an appointment for an abortion. Mia had already made it clear that she didn’t want to keep the baby. I didn’t know what to do. On one hand, I wanted to respect her wishes and help her through this. On the other, I felt guilty. It wasn’t the baby’s fault. It wasn’t even really Mia’s fault. It was a situation we both got into, and it was up to us to decide what came next.

I made the call. We went through with the procedure. But even now, years later, I still feel conflicted. I don’t regret it because I know it was the right decision for us at the time, but I can’t help but wonder what our lives would have been like if we’d chosen differently. Would we have been good parents? Would we have made it work?

That one choice, that one phone call, still weighs on me. It changed my entire outlook on life. It made me realize that sometimes, no matter how much you love someone, you can’t change the reality of a situation.