When I was in College I had a friend named Sara*. She ended up getting pregnant and had the baby. She lived with her mom in a small roach infested apartment in NYC. Her boyfriend was very involved in their lives. He was supportive emotionally, physically and financially of Sara and their son.

They both decided that to avoid getting pregnant again they would look into different methods of contraceptives. They went to a clinic and decided on her getting Norplant implanted in her arm.

We were in class one day and she was complaining of having a really long period and was bleeding very heavy. We were talking about her problems, and that’s when I found out she had this procedure done. I was always pro-life, and I knew the dangers of this type of contraceptive. I immediately asked her when she had this done, and whether the clinic told her about side effects. Sara told me they said possibly heavy bleeding during you period. She said she was having her period for almost 3 weeks! I told her to go to the doctor and have them remove it or do something, because it could kill her. I could tell she didn’t believe me 100%, because she sort of put it off.

I went to the library on my free period to print up some information about it. She didn’t take my advice. The following week she was brought into the emergency room for hemorrhaging. She almost died, but they were able to save her. We never really talked after that (not my doing).

I hope that someone who reads this may stop themselves or someone they know from getting this procedure done. I almost lost a friend, a boy his mother, and a mother her daughter because of the lack of information these clinics keep from unknowing people.

* I changed her name to protect her identity.