After two years of trying to conceive on our own and 3 rounds of fertility treatment, I finally was pregnant. But at our first ultrasound the heartbeat was slower than it should be, and a subsequent one a few days later showed that it had slowed further. I was told the pregnancy was not viable and that I would miscarry. I was devastated and went home to wait. Days went by, and as I waited, my child slowly dying inside of me, I began to emotionally collapse. After a week the doctor said we should schedule a D&C, but it was 3 more agonizing days until I was able to get in. As sad as the loss was, it was the waiting that was hardest.

The following year my sister-in-law found out that the child she was carrying had severe genetic defects and was not expected to make it to term. She had already felt the baby kicking and could not bring herself to terminate, although she was advised by her doctors to do so. Her baby survived the birth and lived for four months. I could not have walked her path, and she could not have walked mine, and thank goodness we both had a CHOICE.