i was 19, and it was just three months into what would later turn into a severely abusive relationship when i figured out i was pregnant.

i will forever be grateful that my decision to have an abortion was treated with professionalism, dignity, and kindness by the medical professionals who helped me

in the mid 1990's, i had an unwanted pregnancy. i was living paycheck-to-paycheck. i did not have health insurance, and i was working in a restaurant. my job was physically challenging enough without the burden of pregnancy.

shaming, or claiming that a woman must have a child conceived through rape or incest is creating a true living hell for that woman or girl. please people. don't tell me what to do until you've walked a mile in my shoes.

both pregnancies were the result of rape. in both instances i was in such denial about what had happened and about the potential for pregnancy that i did not seek medical attention or counsel until it was almost too late to make a decision about what was going to be happening to my body and to my life.

i am dumbfounded how religion and our government have teamed up to strip the rights from every woman and some women actually, blindly support this endeavor.