As a young woman during the time Roe v. Wade made its way though the Supreme Court, I was surprised to learn my mom supported a woman’s right for a safe, legal abortion, particularly since we were Catholics.

I can remember vividly being in church one Sunday when a petition was passed around for signatures opposing abortion and my mom passed the petition along quietly without signing it or saying a word about it.

My grandmother and mother were passionate about a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body and I feel the same.

A few years later, I found out why: You see my maternal grandmother and her two siblings were raised in the Galveston Orphanage. Their mother had passed away from having an illegal abortion in Galveston, when my grandmother was around about 12 years old (around the late 1800’s). Their father was a Merchant Marine and made a living sailing, so he was unable to care for the children and they were placed in the orphanage.

It was a very sad time for my grandmother and her siblings. She rarely talked about her experience in the orphanage, but I do know it was dark time. My grandmother and mother were passionate about a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body and I feel the same.