I decided to get an abortion when I was 22 weeks along. At the time, I was very depressed and had just been honorably discharged from the military. My seven years of service were plagued by sexual assault. Without work and surroundings distracting me, it all hit me at once. My husband and I knew pregnancy and delivery would have pushed me over the edge; I would have ended my life.
I made an appointment at a place near me in South Carolina and learned I was at 22 weeks – too far along for the clinic to help me. In the end, my husband and I found a clinic in Georgia. We drove hundreds of miles packed in our van with the children and dogs, staying overnight at a pet-friendly hotel because of Georgia’s required 24-hour waiting period.
My abortion was the best and most compassionate health care I have ever received. With my husband by my side, once I got the help I needed, I pushed through the shame others heaped on me, and my choice empowered me. Only I knew the right decision for me – and the love and compassion that came with it.
Abortion is health care, plain and simple. A pregnant person may want or need an abortion for many reasons, and politicians and their personal beliefs have no place in private medical decisions. As a Mainer, an American and a veteran, I value freedom for all, and L.D. 1619 will protect our reproductive freedoms here in Maine.
Brittany Lee
Berwick
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