I've never told this story publicly, but here we are. Almost five years ago my wife and I were pregnant. During an ultrasound the technician stopped and went to get another doctor. Something was wrong with our baby. The possibilities were explained to us, and tests ordered. 1/8 https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1277609360550768640

We had to wait over a week, through a large family Thanksgiving we were putting on at our house, for results. They came back with terrible news. The likelihood that we could carry to term was non-existent, but due to laws in NC they could not classify the pregnancy as DNC. 2/8

We had to chose, ourselves, to end the pregnancy or let it resolve itself somewhere around 20 weeks, or another 2 and half months. The hoops we had to jump through, while grieving, were numerous and disgusting. Our local hospital couldn't help, nor could Planned Parenthood, 3/8

due to the time constraints were were on by the 12 week law. We had to find another facility on the other side of the state, sit through counseling to consider keeping the pregnancy, even though there was nothing to be done to save our child, and my wife had to endure 4/8

questions about whether I was forcing her to abort and so much venom by protesters that I wasn't sure she would be able to cope. It was a nightmare, and we were told the likelihood that it would happen to us again were high. I can't tell you how long it took 5/8

for us to be able to look each other in the eyes again without hurting. On more than one occasion I thought it would be the end of our marriage, just because of the pain we both felt. But we came through it together, and are stronger as a couple now. 6/8

I am sharing this story now, because we both feel comfortable with sharing it, which took a long, long time. It is not a plea for empathy and compassion, but a story that shows just how evil it is to try to legislate a woman's health. 7/8

It is a reminder that a woman's body, and the health of that body, is her choice and her's alone. We made these decisions together, but she had to sign the papers. There should be no law anywhere that makes a nightmare of a situation into an even darker, twisted purgatory. 8/8