i spent weeks dropping whatever i was doing when i began to “spot” and rushing to my doctor’s office (i almost lost my job due to my sudden absences): the condition i had takes the clotting factor out of the woman’s blood and creates a risk that the woman will bleed to death if/when she actually miscarries.

this was in the days when abortion was illegal in most states and hard to get even in those states which didn’t ban it outright–so this was potentially a matter of life or death for me. fortunately, i eventually found a doctor who understood my condition: his wife had experienced a missed abortion and had to carry her rotting fetus well past the normal gestation period. i was pro-choice prior to this experience, but this certainly intensified my commitment to a woman’s right to choose.