Several Democratic lawmakers spoke with USA Today about their personal experiences with abortion.
Many sought an abortion after experiencing life-threatening health complications while pregnant.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to gut abortion access, as the court will be releasing its decision on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case soon.
Several Democratic lawmakers in Washington shared their personal experiences with abortion,
emphasizing the importance of being able to make a decision regarding their own well-being and the risks at stake for millions of Americans who may soon lose their access to abortion.
Bush said she weas 17 years old when she found out was pregnant, something she previously shared in congressional testimony.
The congresswomen said she was raped, became pregnant and sought out an abortion.
Speier told USA Today that while married and a mother to one child, she had to terminate her second pregnancy because of a serious health complication.
She was 17 weeks pregnant when the abortion was done, saying, “This was a baby that we desperately wanted to come into the world.”
In another example, Peters shared a harrowing experience his family endured when his ex-wife experienced her water breaking during her fourth month of pregnancy — at about 12 weeks.
Initially, a doctor recommended she have an abortion to protect her life from a potentially fatal infection, but a hospital board denied the doctor’s request.
Peters and his ex-wife knew of another doctor who was able to perform the medically necessary abortion.
for rape, for incest or in the case of my ex-wife, health situation that could have been potentially threatening to her life, that option simply would not be there,” said Peters.