I am 51 and have had three . Many would probably think I used it as a form of birth control , but two of the three pregnancies occurred while on the pill. I was just so grateful I had options. I grew up in a strict Catholic household, and the ability to freely share my experiences was thwarted as a result of that focus. I went to Catholic school even through college, and my Catholic friends were the women I knew who were more likely to have an abortion, ironically . They often felt that they would have been as equally maligned for having had sex while unmarried so they needed to end the pregnancy.

I now have two daughters and I chose to allow them to explore religion on their own terms as opposed to strong arming them into any organization, primarily because of the guilt the church imposed directly or indirectly on me for my legal choice . I remember hearing the line “ain’t no angels gonna greet me “ from a Springsteen song about people with AIDS and thinking that was my fate as well. I was doomed to hell . But the alternative seemed so much worse .

Thirty years later , I’ve become a fervent advocate of Planned Parenthood (PP) and reproductive freedom . I’ve done everything possible to instill that message to my daughters and now as young adults they donate money and time to pro-choice political candidates as well as to PP. It’s very important that pro choice women take control of not only our bodies, but of the spin that anti choice politicians and religious figures have put on a medical procedure that has huge consequences for women’s freedom .

We should not be vilified or stigmatized because of our decision - I know that mine were the right ones - and if there are angels, I’m also pretty sure they will be there to greet us, too.