Hi, my name is nicole and im seventeen. Ill be eighteen next month. I feel so horrible!! There's a chance that i may be pregnant and i dont know what to do( my period is sooo late, its never been this late before)!!! Im going to college this fall and ill be the first in my family to do it. My boyfriend is 19 and already has a child by his exgirlfriend. He says i should get an abortion or else he and the baby will hold me back from my future. HE also says that he wants to keep it too and wants a girl. I already know that i want to keep it, but what about my parents. I know them and they may force me to get an abortion!! Im scared and me and my boyfriend keep arguing about this situation. I am so scared and i dont know what to do. My family is well off in the financial area, but i dont know if they will help me!! Please someone give me a little advice. Im desperate!

I relate to you sooo much! I was 17 when I got pregnant and my boyfriend was 19. He told me to get an abortion. Whoever forces you to get an abortion...tell them EXACTLY what happens throughout the process. I've seen pictures of aborted babies, sooo sad. Yesterday I watched the silent scream...I couldn't believe my eyes...a 12 week baby getting aborted, it was trying sooo hard to move away from the suction. It's little heart beat was going higher and higher and it's mouth was open as if it was screaming. I didn't give in to what people wanted me to do. I had my son and I don't regret any decisions I've made. My boyfriend and family also came around to my decision of keeping our baby and they all can't get enough of our 6 month old miracle. Don't worry, there is always help in other places!

Dear Nicole: You know? Often times our worry is far worse than the actual truth of the situation. In other words, sometimes we worry so much that that is almost even more painful than that which we worry about.
Your parents love you and want the best for you. I think it's important if you are honest with them - and at the same time making a stand for life for your baby ... and their grandbaby. They should not be able to FORCE you into aborting. It is your choice for life so I commend you. Stand for life. I know it's scary telling your parents. But once you do, the worst part will be over. Let us know how it goes Nicole.

Hunnie, don't worry about if your parents can help you financially. I have been there. There are plenty of outside resources...

But, your parents may seem ruff about it at first. But they do come around, trust me. Good luck and god bless!

Dear Nicole - trust your own self and heart . I was 20 when I got pregnant with my older son. I was in college - the first one in my family to go - and was terrified. I knew the relationship with the FOB was not going to work out, and I was so afraid to tell my mother and grandmother about the baby. I felt totally desperate, but something deep inside (maybe literally!) kept me from having an abortion. I finally told my family, and after the initial shock they were very supportive. My son is now 19 and a college freshmen himself. I graduated college (thanks to a lot of support from my family), later married and had another child and have never regretted my decision. My son's birthday is January 22nd, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and I can remember being in the hospital watching about it on the news and looking into his little face, knowing that I had done the right thing. Life does go on, even when you feel like the world is falling apart. Get yourself together, decide what's best for you and come up with a plan on how to make things work - you need to be strong and you need to advocate for yourself. Good luck.

Hope