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Kentucky denies legal and safe reproductive attention for women

Kentucky denies legal and safe reproductive attention for women

Sakege07 mins

A pregnancy is deeply personal and should belong to women alone, not to legislators who often misunderstand or ignore the complexities of reproductive health.

Katie Vandegrift
| Opinion collaborator

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  • I have sailed multiple pregnancies and losses. Living in a state like Kentucky that denies access to safe legal medical care is terrifying.
  • Abortion is a complex and deeply personal choice that must be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, government interference.

Pregnancy, for many, is a trip full of hope, emotion and anticipation.

For me, it has been a roller coaster of joy, anguish and resistance. I’ve been pregnant eight times. Each experience reaffirmed that the decision to continue, or end, a pregnancy is deeply personal and must belong to women alone, not to legislators who often misunderstand or ignore the complexities of reproductive health.

When I recently discovered that I was pregnant again, my first instinct was to ensure abortion medications. This was not because I knew I wanted to finish it, but because it was terrified. Terrified of the unknown, of what could go wrong and to live in a state that denies access to safe legal medical care without exceptions or compassion. I wanted to protect myself, just in case.

Drawing Losses of Pregnancy

I have supported heartbreaking losses that left me with physical and emotionally scars. I have taken a pregnancy wanted just to tell me that the baby’s heart would stop at any time. I have woken up sobbing, loaded with guilt and pain, and I left hospitals with empty arms, my paperwork stamped with the clinical term “lost abortion”.

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At the university, a positive pregnancy test during the unraveling of an abusive relationship arrived. I finished all the ties with that relationship, an choice that I made quietly and resolved to protect myself from a must for the control of another person. I do not regret, but I have learned that pain and relief can coexist. I will always defend the right of each woman to weigh her own options at times like that, without judging.

Years later, after spontaneous abortions before and after the birth of my first child, I faced another devastating complication. At 12 weeks, they told me that my baby had such a severe condition that life outside the uterus was impossible. I chose to continue the pregnancy, but I will never forget the anguish of taking a baby who knew I would never hear breathe. When the 18 -week ultrasound confirmed its silence, I had to decide between delivery or dilation and evacuation (D&E), a procedure politicized by legislators. I chose to deliver, but both options are painful and deserve compassion.

It’s not about abortion. It’s about reproductive health

Now, I am pregnant with twins, a surprise that brings me immense joy. But my trip has been marked by loss, trauma and constant fear that my right to decide on my own body has been stripped. This fear is justified. Throughout the country, women are forced to wear pregnancies even when their lives are at risk. These laws are cruel and dangerous.

It is not about advocating abortions: it is about ensuring that women can make the best decisions for themselves, free of judgment, stigma and interference of the government. Abortion is already personal heartbreaking. It is a decision that nobody makes light, and belongs only to a woman in consultation with her doctor. Reproductive health care is not a privilege; It is a necessity, a right that must be protected, not politicized. It is about autonomy, dignity and freedom. No one should impose their beliefs in the private elections of another. This is essential for our freedom.

Okay or disagree? Send a letter to the editor.

Katie Vandegrift, resident of Midway, is a mother who has sailed through multiple pregnancy losses and defends reproductive health.

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