"i am extremely proud of the fact that i had an abortion. i am able to live the life i always imagined for myself because of abortion.

"this first photo helps frame my abortion experience by portraying who i was able to become and what i was able to accomplish as a result of terminating my pregnancy.

"i grew up in a small town in michigan. the local family planning clinic wasn't open on weekends and the nearest abortion provider was more than 50 miles away.

the very first time i shared my abortion story publicly in 2012, i wrote "abortion is different for everyone. each abortion is like stripes on a zebra; while on the surface they may seem similar, no two experiences are exactly the same."

"i viewed strength prior to this experience as something in relation to how physically capable you were. i saw it as something only a special few had that it came innately. what i didn’t realize was my strength was uniquely designed for me, and came from a different source.

towards the end of my senior year of high school, i had a casual encounter with a guy that was a little older than me. one thing led to the another and we ended up having sex.