“I was 16 when my girlfriend got pregnant,” begins the quote accompanying a picture of a young father and his daughter posted to the Humans of New York Instagram account yesterday. “We went to the abortion clinic on 59th Street. We filled out the papers and everything. Then right before we were called back, we looked at each other, and said: ‘Let’s get out of here.’”

Within a couple of hours, the image, also posted to Facebook, was liked by over 300,000 people and shared nearly 10,000 times, and had racked up 5,000 comments, clearly striking a nerve.

In the picture, a man dressed in slacks and a dress shirt holds a cell phone, displaying a silly “selfie” of father and daughter sticking out their tongues.

It’s the sort of viral content Brandon Stanton, 31, the creator of the Humans of New York photo blog, has become known for.

Comments on this powerful image were equally personal. “I was 15 when I got pregnant and had her at 16. People wanted me to get an abortion because a baby would ‘ruin my life’ and how ‘difficult’ it was to maintain and be responsible for another life,” wrote a woman named Jessica Capitello. “And for a moment I thought they were right, but my boyfriend and I decided that it’s not the child’s fault. We were willing to do whatever we had to for our daughter. Now she’s 2 going on 3 and she’s the greatest miracle in our lives.”

Stanton launched Humans of New York as a side project in 2010 after being fired from a job in finance. Each day, he posts images of various New Yorkers along with snippets of their personal stories. He has since amassed over 3 million followers on Instagram and 14 million fans on Facebook. He has published two books, collections of his images. A third will be released in October.

“I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map,” Stanton wrote on the Humans of New York website.

A woman named Jessica Hart shared her story in response to yesterday’s photo as well. “I feel this so much. When I found out I was pregnant, my boyfriend and I went straight to Planned Parenthood,” she wrote. “I was 18 (he was 21) and scared sh*tless. We talked about payment options since it would have to be covered beforehand and my insurance wouldn’t cover it. We had a list of phone numbers to call and I never could call them. They just sat in my wallet. At 12 weeks pregnant, I finally decided to go to the OBGYN and that I wanted my baby. I’m now 19 (and he’s 22), and we have a beautiful 10-week-old little girl and I love her more than life itself. We’re young and we never stopped being scared, but we’re living each day for our daughter.”

A previous Humans of New York post captured the same man. The caption reads: “My mom was driving me home from school when I told her that my girlfriend was pregnant. She’s a taxi driver, so we were in her yellow cab. My whole body was hot because I was so nervous. When I finally told her, she pulled over to the side of the road, slapped me across the chest, and said: ‘Don’t ask me for sh*t anymore! It’s your time to become a man.’”

Other comments on the original post of the young man on Facebook include:

Eva Marie: “Good for you guys. I got pregnant in my teens as well with my first and there’s never been a day where I regretted having her in my life. She was a beautiful accident. When I think about how seriously I considered abortion, I want to cry. I’m 100% pro choice, but I just couldn’t do it. My little girl is the most important thing in my life and I’m so thankful to have her.”

Carrie Noelle: “I am glad they had the option of abortion if they needed it, and I’m glad they went with what worked out best for them instead. Either way, everyone should be able to choose. Beautiful little girl!”

Melissa Costa: “I am, and always have been pro choice, and I applaud yours. Choice means just that! She is a beautiful child, and I wish you and your family the best of everything in the future! It won’t always be easy or fun, but I believe you are up to the challenge!”

Revilleza Lucky: “Give this man a standing ovation.”