My wife’s stepfather began raping her when she was 11 years old. The abuse went on for years, and as Debbie got older, she was constantly terrified that she was pregnant.
She had no one to talk to and nowhere to turn. Debbie’s stepfather often threatened to kill her younger brother and her mother if she told anyone, so when the fear of pregnancy became too consuming, she told her mother she was assaulted at school.
Her mother took Debbie to a doctor, who said that because of her scar tissue, she was sexually active and must have a boyfriend.
It was the early 1970s. A pregnancy would have, in Debbie’s words, ruined her life. Today, she is 60 years old. She is still dealing with the repercussions of that trauma.