Choosing a Childless Life

I sat in the cold gynecologist’s office, completely naked and wrapped awkwardly in a paper gown. The fluorescent lights emphasized my pale skin, as the paper underneath me crinkled ominously. I tried to sit as gracefully as a I could, as my doctor sat in front of me, her eyes full of sympathy. Two years prior, she had had the same sympathetic look in her eyes as she held my freshly removed IUD with a pair of tweezers. The copper coils were twisted up so badly, my doctor’s candid look of shock and horror was cause for concern.