When I was 19, I was home from college for Thanksgiving. I had a night that ended with a ripped condom and a lot of fear. If it hadn’t been the holiday weekend, I could have called my doctor. If I had been at college, I could have easily gone to the student health center. But I was in the suburbs and it was Thanksgiving weekend and I needed emergency contraception. Luckily, a Planned Parenthood was not too far from my parents’ house, and I made an excuse of meeting a friend for breakfast and drove myself there. They were non-judgmental and efficient and I returned back to my family without anyone batting an eye. I know I’m really lucky on a lot of levels. Even if I did need my parents’ help, they would have been supportive. But, the fact that I could do this on my own is really the way it should be.

Every woman should be able to be in control of her own body, her own destiny.

Every woman should be able to be in control of her own body, her own destiny.