On May 26, 2018, Ireland repealed the amendment that forbid abortion in almost every circumstance. After 13 years, my abortion rarely crosses my mind because it was a non-event; I’ve had pub lunches more traumatic.

But on May 26, I was hoping that the man I had slept with, just the once, on that fateful night was voting YES, because he left the day after we slept together, to go home—to Ireland.

If the night had happened in reverse, if I had lived in Ireland and not Massachusetts, our lives would be infinitely different. My right to my body is sacred, and on May 26, 2018, I was reminded of how important that was.