Kim- First let me say that I am so glad your choice worked out for you and that you have a happy and healthy son. But that’s just it: it was a choice. And women need to be able to have that choice.

As soon as woman becomes pregnant, she is automatically referred to as “the mother.” It seems so often this new role as mother outweighs her existence as a woman. So if she’s told that in giving birth to her child, she might die, many expect her to put the life of the child before her own. This expectation doesn’t allow for her to act as a woman — to put herself first. Her welfare first. If there’s a chance that both her and the child could die during birth or shortly thereafter, that is a chance that some simply cannot stand to take.

You took that chance, and it worked out for you. And like I said, I’m so glad. For for thousands of women every year, it doesn’t work out. They die. Their babies die. And maternal mortality rates are inextricably linked to access to sufficient health services, and yes, safe and legal abortion. For example, 97% of counties in Texas do not have an abortion clinic. Texas has the highest maternal mortality in the developed world.

While women will still die in childbirth regardless of access to health services and abortion, they need choices about how to address concerns during pregnancy to increase the chances of survival for them, for their unborn child, or both. I know the idea of later abortion is tough to swallow. I also know that it’s not a decision made cavalierly. It’s painful. It’s gut-wrenching. It’s life-changing. For most women, it stays with them forever. But women should be allowed to put their safety first or help their child avoid a painful death without the added guilt of what other people think of them. You chose the end of your story: Let other women choose theirs.