As a reproductive health counselor for many years, I worked with countless women, each of whom had a different story. There was the pregnant, homeless, woman with schizophrenia in her early forties who knew she couldn’t bear a child, but who also couldn’t manage birth control. The pregnant 15-year-old whose mother threatened to kick her out of the house unless she had an abortion. The depressed, married, mother of a 16-year-old son who thought she might commit suicide rather than go through with her pregnancy.

The list goes on and on. As many stories as there are women. We need to be able to work with our health care providers to make the decisions that are right for each of us and our families.

The abused mother of six who was clear she couldn’t handle another child, but whose husband wouldn’t let her take birth control. The list goes on and on. As many stories as there are women. We need to be able to work with our health care providers to make the decisions that are right for each of us and our families.