The fact is that most women over the age of 50 have already fought this battle for autonomy. We had to fight for our credit history, our ability to go to specific employment fields, and decide if we ever wanted to become mothers and when. These were all personal and economic decisions that we had to FIGHT for in the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s.  And, now, here we are again, in 2022.

Women must be respected for the individuals they are, even as men demand the same respect. When women determine whether to have a family, whether to add to their family, then there is little chance that the decision is “spur of the moment,” “frivolous,” “uninformed,” or easy. When the government decides that women are incapable of making these life-changing decisions by removing the ability to access the medical services needed, the government has overstepped. When the right to control your own body is banned, I believe that most of the other freedoms we have fought for will also be at risk.

I will fight for women to have the right to choose their paths in life and the timing of those decisions and to insist that the autonomy of women is a fundamental right. Banning abortion will not end abortion. It will simply end safe abortions. I will fight for the privilege of each woman to make the life decisions that are right for her.