I had an abortion at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown. I was 22. I found out I was pregnant March 27th, and by April 6th the amazing people at BPAS had given me a call back (the following day), a phone call consultation (April 1st), and I took my first abortion pill in person, with a nurse on the 6th. I believe shortly after a law was passed so that both abortion pills could be taken at home. Which I felt relief for other girls. At the very start of national lockdown the roads were deadly quiet, I kept my abortion between myself and my boyfriend (who lives 200 miles away.) He drove down to support me and I worried the whole time he would be stopped and questioned by the police, although I felt it was a perfectly acceptable reason to form a bubble. When we went to the appointment I had the same worry of being stopped, my family asking me where I was going? It’s a national lockdown and I had to drive 25 mins to a clinic, have my appointment, and 25 mins home. We lied and said we had been to ‘a few supermarkets.’ It also affected my initial phone consultation- my mum was now working from home and I had to find a way to get some privacy. In the end I took the call in my car outside my house pretending I was cleaning it out! It was constant excuses, and in a ‘normal’ world I could’ve used ‘shopping’ ‘the cinema’ ‘seeing a friend’ etc but I was left with limited excuses as everything had shut. One benefit was I didn’t need anytime off work as my job had been suspended and I eventually ended up on furlough. Honestly, despite the stress of keeping it a secret. All I could think was- I can’t believe this is free?! BPAS is an amazing organisation and without them I wouldn’t have coped. Almost 10 months on now, and every so often I’m reminded of how right my decision was!