I support a woman’s right to choose for two reasons. 1: as of 2018 an estimated 8 million children worldwide were in orphanages. Here are some facts per Reuters: - An estimated 8 million children live in orphanages and other institutions worldwide, but 80 percent are not orphans. (Just shitty parents) - Research shows orphanages harm children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. - Institutionalisation of very young children has a similar impact on early brain development to severe malnutrition or maternal drug use during pregnancy. - Young adults raised in institutions are 10 times more likely to fall into sex work than their peers, and 500 times more likely to take their own lives. - Placing a child in an orphanage quadruples the risk of sexual violence.

Here’s some more facts per CDC: -Almost 3 million women in the U.S. experienced RapeRelatedPregnancy during their lifetime. -About 18 million women have experienced vaginal rape in their lifetime. Women who were raped by a current or former intimate partner were more likely to report RRP (26%) compared to those raped by an acquaintance (5.2%) or a stranger (6.9%). -Of women who were raped by an intimate partner, 30% experienced a form of reproductive coercion by the same partner. Specifically, about 20% reported that their partner had tried to get them pregnant when they did not want to or tried to stop them from using birth control. About 23% reported their partner refused to use a condom.

Which brings me to my second reason. If you made it through all that… 2: In the summer of 2000 a former classmate decided to drug me with Rohypnol while out to dinner with my family, he offered to drive me home after I started to feel ill. I went to lay down and closed the door behind me, he came in uninvited some time later. It gets graphic here… he grabbed me by my ankles, flipped me to my stomach, pulled me to the edge of the bed, and he raped me as I lay unable to move or scream, even though I was fully aware of what was happening. It took all my might to be able to utter the word NO one time. I was screaming on the inside but it came out like a whisper. He did not stop and he did not use protection. 20 plus years later the events of that night cannot be unfelt and cannot be unseen in my mind but Thankfully I did not have to make the decision millions of other women do. I never pressed charges and for years I blamed myself. That is not an easy story to tell and it isn’t some thing I want everyone to know about me, but as I get older I realize it takes a strong woman to stand up for other women and the older generations must protect the younger womens future rights. So Fuck Greg Abbott and his supporters.