We at Physicians for Reproductive Health are moved when we get updates from our Voices of Courage storytellers. Last week, one of our early storytellers, Rachel from West Virginia, had heart surgery to address some complications pregnancies had on her heart. This week, we are celebrating and honoring Rachel and her ongoing Voices of Courage story as she speedily recovers.

Join us the rest of this week to hear Rachel’s story.

My reflecting on sharing my story as I am going into heart surgery makes me both sad and thankful.

I am thankful first and foremost to having twenty more years on this Earth due to Planned Parenthood’s interventions on my behalf to save me from an abusive boyfriend I had when I was fifteen years old. If I hadn’t been going to Planned Parenthood at the time to get birth control pills I would have died at the hands of that young man.

I am sad because Trump and his administration are dead set on closing Planned Parenthoods across America. That will only lead to more unplanned pregnancies and more people dying needlessly from preventable things all the way from abusive partners to STIs to unplanned pregnancies that, like my own, have gone terribly wrong.

In my many years on this Earth, I have had many tragedies in thirty-five years of life but I have also had many triumphs. One of these triumphs has been speaking out for reproductive health care and meeting with many politicians to tell my story.