Gabi's Story

We must continue to fight for the liberation of women’s simple freedoms. This fight has allowed many women such as myself to continue down the path of greatness.

Because of this fight we are legally able to receive decent reproductive care and continue the fight toward women’s reproductive justice. We’ve now got great programs like Patients to Advocates that have helped us find our voice in a world that makes us feel ashamed for taking control of our lives and making the tough decision to get an abortion.

I found myself making the same decision that most women face one way or another. I was a freshman in college, down a straight and narrow path. The life I saw myself being happy with did not include having a child at 19. Because of Roe v Wade I was able to make my first parenting decision, receive healthy abortion care services, and allow myself more time to develop and care for myself so that I could one day have more than enough for the children that I’ve spent so much time planning for.

Patients to Advocates has allowed me and so many other women to access a platform where we can actively connect and use our voices to encourage other women to do the same. It’s been one of the most fulfilling and liberating journeys. I’ve been given back a power that I didn’t even realize was taken from me. I will continue to fight so others may reclaim their power too. This fight is about bodily autonomy, one of the roots of equality for all.

As an African American woman, we have to try just that much harder to provide healthy environments for our children. We deserve the right to choose when, where, how, and with whom we produce and in what condition. Abortion care services, along with safe housing; an equitable education system; healthy, affordable groceries; and governmental officials invested in the welfare of citizens are necessary to create these healthy environments. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to be an advocate and will continue to lend myself to the fight towards equality.