In November, I am voting yes to amend Virginia’s Constitution to protect reproductive health care.
This amendment protects Virginia families’ reproductive health care needs, covering birth control, fertility, prenatal care, abortion, miscarriage management, childbirth and postpartum care.
There is a lot we can all learn about reproductive health. For example, did you know that antibiotics can lower the efficacy of oral birth control medications? Neither did I — until I found out the hard way.
When the urgent care doctor prescribed antibiotics for a bad sinus infection, he never mentioned it. When I picked up my prescription and read the interactions, they never mentioned it, either.
So, imagine my surprise when I got a positive pregnancy test. I was in shock. I booked an appointment to confirm the pregnancy, and because I was uninsured at the time, that appointment was at Planned Parenthood, the same place I got my birth control from.
I will never forget the look on the faces of the medical staff in the room with me when they did the ultrasound: the doctor looked at me and said, “Young lady, you got here just in time.” My pregnancy was ectopic — and the fertilized egg was stuck in my fallopian tube.
The doctor told me that not only would my pregnancy not survive, but that it was life-threatening to me. The only course of action the doctors could take to save my life was to terminate the pregnancy immediately.
Fast forward two years, I was sexually assaulted. I was not on birth control during this time and got pregnant again.
I was a mess — utterly distraught at the idea of being tethered in any way to my assaulter. I once again turned to Planned Parenthood in my time of need and was able to access abortion services that gave me the space and ability to heal from that trauma.
The second abortion saved me in a much different way than the first one did. It gave my husband and I a chance to plan, prepare for, and then welcome our daughter with joy on Jan. 19, 2004 — the happiest day of my life.
Then somehow, at the age of 41, I found myself staring in disbelief once again at two positive lines on the pregnancy test. My husband and I excitedly made our first appointment with the best OB-GYN I could find. It was so early at only five weeks, but we were ecstatic about the opportunity to have and love another child.
At our third appointment we were given the devastating news that there was no heartbeat. The fetus had not survived. I was sent home to let things progress naturally and miscarry on my own. But when it finally happened, I knew something wasn’t right. When I went to the hospital the next day, the doctors determined that I needed miscarriage management in the form of a dilation and curettage (D&C), a safe procedure that saved my life.
For the third time in my life, I was saved by an abortion.
I am alive today because I had access to reproductive health care. Three abortions, three very different reasons, none more valid than any other.
We have an opportunity in Virginia to make sure that every person has the ability to make decisions about when and how to start a family, and access to care that can be lifesaving. We have an opportunity to make sure doctors and nurses are also protected and can focus on their patients’ needs.
I am a late Gen X-er, and I refuse to sit idly by while I watch folks across the country lose access to necessary and lifesaving health care that I’ve had my whole life — access that I had when I needed it most.
In November, I will vote to pass this constitutional amendment to protect reproductive health care for all Virginians. Will you join me?
Heather St Amand of Virginia Beach is a mom, wife, mother and reproductive freedom organizer for the ACLU of Virginia.