In 2006 I had an unplanned pregnancy. Neither I nor my partner were ready for a child yet, and we both immediately agreed that I would have an abortion. At my first appointment with the clinic, they couldn’t find the fetus on the ultrasound, so I had to wait a week and go back. That week was soul-crushing. The wait destroyed my psyche, and every day that I woke up still knowing I was pregnant was agony.
When I was finally scheduled for my procedure, I was met that morning with a crowd of mostly older, angry white men, one of whom got so close to me to scream that his spit hit my face.
After my procedure, I woke up in the recovery room next to a teenage girl who was already awake. We just looked at each other and smiled, and I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She was so brave.
I never thought I would have to thank the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and George W. Bush’s SCOTUS for allowing me a safe and legal abortion, and to determine my own destiny.