Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) on Thursday shared her story of having an abortion in a New York Times op-ed.
Jayapal first outlined the difficulty of her first child’s birth and the child’s numerous health emergencies that followed.
Several years later, the Democratic congresswoman wrote, doctors told her that future pregnancies would be extremely high-risk, like the first one. But despite her and her husband’s prevention efforts, Jayapal got pregnant again.
“I decided I could not responsibly have the baby,” wrote Jayapal. “It was a heartbreaking decision, but it was the only one I was capable of making.”
The congresswoman said that she decided to share her experience for the first time, even though she felt she shouldn’t have to, because of the slew of anti-abortion laws being passed in GOP-majority states.
“For me, terminating my pregnancy was not an easy choice, but it was my choice,” she wrote. “That is the single thing that has allowed me to live with the consequences of my decisions. And that is what must be preserved, for every pregnant person.”
