Thank you for telling your story; I can only hope it will be read by people who need to see that abortion is something that no woman approaches or undergoes lightly. Nor is it the province of selfish sluts.

A lot of us were already mothers, like you. A lot of us were married. A lot of us had reasons that would be as painful to explain as yours clearly are. And a lot of us carry the grief from a decision that, yes, was the best one we could make at the time.

I am angered and horrified and scared for my daughter-in-law-to-be, for my grand nieces, for the young teen students I work with. And I am heartsick for all of us who are forced to revisit and defend a life choice that, in a society that regards itself as civilized, should be private and personal.