When abortion is legal and accessible, women get to make the choice to continue a pregnancy, even under the most challenging circumstances.

A few years ago, I had a patient who had been trying for years to get pregnant. When she found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic. Unfortunately, at her four-month ultrasound, we learned that her baby had a severe deformity.

The baby could live but would require multiple surgeries and would inevitably have significant disabilities.

Over the course of a week, we talked multiple times about her options: she could choose to terminate her pregnancy or she could choose to continue it, knowing that her and her husband’s lives would never be the same. She chose to continue her pregnancy and, despite all of the challenges, has expressed gratitude that she was able to make that decision.