"I probably would've been out in the streets homeless." "Oh, both my kids would've been taken away permanently - for sure," she says. Had L not found Casa Mía, she says, her life would look much different. She needed to find a place to go to that would be supportive and understanding. She has struggled with substance use disorder in the past and was taking methadone - a drug that helps mitigate the side effects of opioid addiction - when she got pregnant. The only thing she had the power to do was to quit her relationship. L also had another child, a 4-year-old boy, and couldn't leave him. The closest clinic is at least an eight-hour drive from her home in San Antonio. Abortion is illegal in Texas, and she didn't have the means to go to another state. She considered abortion, but even if she'd wanted one, it was impossible. NPR is not using her full name - just her initial - out of concern for L's safety. "I was like, 'Well, if that's not gonna stop him, then nothing is.'" "He actually hit me when I was pregnant," she says. NPR is not using L's full name out of concern for her safety L says she was in an abusive relationship when she became pregnant. Her son, who's now 2 months old, was born healthy despite L's history of substance abuse. L holds her baby at Casa Mía in San Antonio, which provides housing and support for pregnant people and new mothers struggling with addiction.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |