I chose to end my pregnancy because of downs syndrome and I’m not sorry

I’m 20 years old and I have a 16 month old daughter. I had just gotten back into working out after having my baby and I was starting to look and feel amazing again. I met a new friend at my gym, we had made plans to go out to dinner but we ended up going to his house and hooking up. We did use a condom, but it always makes me laugh that people say condoms have a 2% chance of [pregnancy].<br> 3 months later I found out I was pregnant, and at the time I had just started seeing someone and hid my pregnancy from him for about a month. I knew that the baby could’ve been either his or my one night stands so I wanted to wait until I was 12 weeks along and could find out the paternity. I was 13 weeks along when I got my results and found out the baby was my one night stands. I told my now ex of my pregnancy and he stayed with me through all of my appointments. A couple days after I found out the baby was my one night stands my ex and I went to the doctor for my dating ultrasound. I was so excited to see that little blob on the screen and my appointment went normally all things considered. We’ve all heard the horror stories of people walking in on a miscarriage being told there is no heartbeat, but that wasn’t the case for me. The doctor said the baby appeared to be healthy. My appointment was done, I had my next appointment in a week for my anatomy scan and was told to just come by myself for that one. The day of my anatomy scan rolled around, and my ex came with me. The doctor did the scan and told me everything was normal and all organs appeared to be healthy. I was having my baby girl.<br><br>I was 21 weeks along and feeling amazing. I went in for my follow up appointment for my anatomy scan. There was a few things my doctor saw during my anatomy scan that she wanted to do some blood tests and another scan to confirm her suspicions. The doctor did another scan and told me that the baby appeared to have a few soft markers for downs syndrome. I was in complete shock. I had no family history and at the time I was still young. I didn’t understand how this could’ve happened. I was told it’s very common for mothers with no family history and no known medical issues for their babies to have downs syndrome. It all just felt too surreal. I was in shock. I did the blood tests and after a long day I finally got to go home. I went home and cried, my ex was trying to be supportive and he was but I just wanted my mom. I called her and told her everything. She came over and stayed with me that night. I don’t think I would’ve made it if she wasn’t there. <br><br>The next day I got my blood test results and the doctor told me that my blood test results indicated that the baby had a very high chance of having downs syndrome. I was in complete shock. I had no idea what to do. I’m 20 years old, I don’t know if I’m ready to be a mom of a special needs baby. I was starting to think about all of the circumstances. My ex and I were starting to think about moving in together but we decided against it when we found out the news. I did a lot of thinking and crying. I cried a lot. I thought about all of my options. I thought about what having a special needs baby would do to my life. I thought about the financial burdens. I thought about the risks of premature birth. I thought about the risks of miscarriage. I thought about the risks of all the complications. I thought about how this would effect my daughter. I thought about how this changed the dynamic of my relationship. I thought about the quality of life my baby would have if given the chance. <br><br>I made my decision, I chose to abort my pregnancy due to all of the complications and circumstances and I’m not sorry. I know there are a lot of people who believe that having an abortion is murder, but it saved me and gave me a second chance. I just want others to know that there is nothing wrong with making this choice for yourself. It’s okay to be upset, it’s okay to be emotional and it’s okay to not be sorry.