From contraception and abortion to assisted reproduction, five women share how access to reproductive care shaped their choices, families and futures.

What’s your reproductive freedom story? As part of Ms.’ The Majority campaign, five staff members at Power to Decide share theirs. The nonprofit works to expand access to sexual and reproductive health information and care; its programs include Bedsider and AbortionFinder.

Everyone’s story is different. Share yours with Ms. and tell us what access to reproductive choices made possible for you.

Cat

Until [the Supreme Court ruled married couples had a right to contraception], [my grandmother, Ruth’s] adult life was pregnancy and postpartum, on repeat.

My grandmother, Ruth, wasn’t who I expected to teach me about reproductive rights. As my career began, she was scandalized, convinced birth control “pushed teenagers to have sex.” Then one day, she said, “So what you’re saying is that if I didn’t want seven kids, I shouldn’t have had to?”

By 1963, Ruth had seven live births and multiple miscarriages. After her sixth and seventh, she begged her doctor to tie her tubes. He refused. Mapping my aunts’ and uncles’ birth years, the gaps are clearly when she miscarried. Two years later, the Supreme Court ruled married couples had a right to contraception. Until then, her adult life was pregnancy and postpartum, on repeat.

She died June 27, 2022, three days after Roe fell. She was also a nurse, a gardener, a painter, a woman who loved deeply.

I don’t know what Ruth would have chosen. Maybe seven kids, maybe two and more time in the garden. We’ll never know, because it wasn’t her choice. Mine is. That’s the life reproductive access built.

The least I owe her.

Chelsey

I was able to take the morning-after pill after an assault, to take birth control and get an abortion when I didn’t want to be pregnant, and to get pregnant when it was the right time for me. This access meant I have been in control of my destiny and have had the education, career, family and community I’ve dreamed of. Without this access, none of it would have been possible.

Emma

Birth control gave me the freedom to step into my beautiful queer life, then assisted reproduction gave me the chance to build a family with the love of my life.

I started using birth control as a teenager, long before I had the chance to fully grow into myself. Avoiding pregnancy when I was younger by using birth control gave me many opportunities: an education, a meaningful career and most importantly, the chance to understand and embrace my identity as a queer woman. Birth control gave me the freedom to step into my beautiful queer life, then assisted reproduction gave me the chance to build a family with the love of my life. When we were ready to become parents, I was able to get pregnant through IUI.

Access to a wide range of reproductive health services meant I could build a family that felt unattainable to me as a young queer person—one filled with more joy than I could dream up.

Monica

Access to reproductive choices, including low- or no-cost sexual and reproductive health care, allowed me to make a conscious decision about if, when and under what circumstances I may want to have children. Because of access to contraception, annual visits and other reproductive care, I was able to go through college, law school and build the career and life I want on my own terms.

Maria

Growing up attending Catholic school, birth control, reproductive and sexual health and bodily autonomy weren’t taught or talked about. So, when it came to learning about not only my options—but also the importance of taking care of my health and pleasure—it was a long and frustrating road. I felt like I was behind on all the information I needed to know to make the best decisions for myself and my future. Because I had access to contraception (in my case, an IUD), I was able to go to work as a journalist, attend graduate school, work on research in the sexual health field, focus on my career and continue to spread factual and reliable information so others don’t feel like they are alone in their own education journey.

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This piece was adapted from a blog post originally published by Power to Decide. For information about birth control methods or help finding a provider, visit Bedsider; for abortion resources, visit AbortionFinder.