Women who get abortions don't owe anyone an explanation, but sometimes hearing the reasoning behind their decisions reminds everyone why choice is so important.
In a new video for Al Jazeera, four women, Melanie, Alyssa, Bree and Shanelle, talked about why the chose to get abortions and how their experiences have impacted them today.
“I knew it was the right decision because I didn’t want to be a single mom at 17," Alyssa said.
“It was a quick turnaround for me," Shanelle said. "Didn’t think twice about it. I knew exactly what I wanted."
“I don’t regret having my abortion," Melanie said.
Towards the end of the video, Shanelle makes an important point about the vicious cycle many women end up being caught in in the U.S. “We live in a country [that] doesn’t provide access to comprehensive sex education, doesn’t teach people how to protect themselves from pregnancy," she said. "And then when a person does become pregnant because they don’t know how to protect themselves... we tell them that having an abortion is the wrong thing to do when in fact it’s entirely up to them."
Watch the full video above to hear more about these brave women's stories.
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