Our nation’s abortion bans have stripped nearly 28 million women of the freedom to make their own choices. I am one of those women affected by an abortion ban, and my experience has profoundly shaped my newly-found political stance. What I went through — fighting against restrictive laws, navigating a broken health care system, and being forced to travel out of state for essential care — opened my eyes to the real consequences of the policies that Donald Trump and his allies have championed. These policies are direct attacks on our rights, our autonomy, and our well-being.
I’ve always opposed these bans, but I never thought I’d be impacted by them. I considered my IUD to be a bulletproof form of birth control (according to Planned Parenthood, IUDs are “more than 99% effective.”) It had kept me safe for seven years prior to finding out I was pregnant last September. I found out I was pregnant early on at four weeks because I regularly track my periods and decided to take a test when I noticed it hadn’t come yet. Despite my efforts to prevent an unplanned pregnancy, I was unexpectedly faced with a reality I wasn’t prepared for.
The abortion ban had just gone into effect here in South Carolina, right when I needed care. The ban states that physicians who perform an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected could face criminal penalties, including jail time. So, fearing prosecution, many doctors felt forced to withhold care due to the risk of being arrested or fined for violating the law. This made finding accessible care in my home state impossible.
I was hoping to access care from my trusted gynecologist, but the receptionist I spoke with completely dismissed me. When I called Planned Parenthood, I found out that they couldn’t get me in until after the six-week mark, which the statute outlined was outside the legal timeline.
The limited number of clinics also plays a big role in this too. In South Carolina alone, there are only three abortion clinics to serve over 2 million people who reside here, and they were undeniably overwhelmed by an influx of patients. And most pregnant people don’t necessarily know how far along they are until seen by a doctor, and by then, it’s often too late. They end up making these appointments only to be turned away because they’re past the cutoff.
Feeling I had no choice, I sought care in North Carolina. There, I was misled by a “pregnancy resource center” that tried to dissuade me from having an abortion with misinformation. When I arrived, they refused to provide the ultrasound they had promised after learning I wanted an abortion. They attempted to convince me that adoption was my only option, even as I expressed concern about pain that could have indicated an ectopic pregnancy. Despite the seriousness of the situation, they showed no concern for my health and my choice. Frustrated, I left.
I felt completely neglected.
I reluctantly returned to my gynecologist, who confirmed my pregnancy was not ectopic, but refused to help me get an abortion, even though I was under the arbitrary cutoff of six weeks. She offered no guidance beyond a wish of “good luck.” I felt completely neglected.
I eventually called Planned Parenthood again and had to wait a week for an appointment in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, followed by a 72-hour waiting period before the procedure. By the time I reached Wilmington, for the abortion, I was six weeks and two days pregnant and completely exhausted.
In total, I spent over 20 hours on the road across three trips, encountering constant delays and denials. Unfortunately, thousands of women face similar or even worse obstacles when seeking access to essential care. This unfair treatment will continue if our abortion rights are not restored. No one should have to endure these hurdles.
No one should have to endure these hurdles.
If Trump were to be reelected in November, his extreme second-term agenda would allow him and his administration to be even more involved in our most personal decisions. Trump and Vance would ban abortion nationwide, allow states to monitor pregnancies, and slash access to contraception. It is Trump’s administration who laid the groundwork for these extreme abortion bans in the first place. He is responsible for these cruel bans because he intentionally appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court on the promise that they would overturn Roe v. Wade. And they did exactly that, unleashing these draconian abortion laws that strip away women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies. This is something he continues to brag about to this day.
These laws must be challenged and changed, and I am fighting to elect Vice President Harris to protect us from these oppressive policies that force women into these impossible situations.
Vice President Harris has fought for our reproductive rights her entire career. She understands that these decisions belong to people and their doctors — not politicians. As someone who is committed to safeguarding our right to choose, she represents the kind of leadership we need at this critical moment. This fight is about more than just my choice — it’s about the collective rights and freedoms of millions of women across our nation.
