Women’s Health and Safety in Court’s Hands

Originally from the east coast, Donna McNichol is the mother of two teenagers, regional director of Planned Parenthood Shasta Diablo, and spends her weekends watching her daughters play soccer.

A couple of months into my first pregnancy, I feared that something may be wrong. I started bleeding. While some days the bleeding was lighter than other days, I bled every day. We kept hoping that I would stop and my pregnancy would continue normally. Since we did not know the cause of my bleeding, my doctors did not know how to stop it. My health was at risk.

[img_assist|nid=1353|title=Special Series|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=89|height=100]I was very concerned about being able to continue the pregnancy and the possibility of giving birth to a baby that would die. My family and loved ones were also concerned about my health. The hardest part was not knowing what to do. There was not a right or wrong answer.

My husband and I, after consulting with my family, my doctor and my loved ones, decided to end the pregnancy in order to protect my health. I was only halfway into my pregnancy, approximately 20 weeks. I never once considered asking my elected officials what I should do. It was so very personal.