in 2000, i was a 32 year old, single mother of 12 year old and found out i was pregnant. i was scared and had little financial security. my parents were strict, fundamental, evangelical christians so there was no support from them and i had placed a baby for adoption the year prior.

i had a baby before i was 18. i was unmarried and just could not face having an abortion, even though my close friend had one less than a year before i found out i was pregnant. when my baby was 9 months old, i found out i was pregnant again.

i would like to share a more normal story about the ability and right to have an abortion. it is one that for most women would be harder to tell.

it's probably hyperbolic to say that my abortion saved my life when i have every reason to believe i would have had a healthy pregnancy.

after facing a 9-year grueling, exhausting, expensive repeating cycle of hope and devastation due to unexplained infertility, i found myself pregnant, the old-fashioned way. what an exciting surprise! my son, who was 3 at the time would finally have a much-loved sibling. my dream of a family was finally coming true.

in 2006, my husband and i were pregnant with our first child. all of our early screenings and tests were going fine with no signs of complications. it was at the 20 week level ii ultrasound that instead of finding out the sex of my baby, my life changed forever.