I am disabled and in a wheel chair, with damage to 23 vertebrae as a result of abuse in childhood and my first marriage. This damage is further compounded by spinal cord signal loss, nerve root and spinal cord compression, ankylosing spondylitis, RA, DDD, Scoliosis and Fibromyalgia. I’ve had 2 cervical spine surgeries, one which saved me from permanent paralysis. I cannot walk on my own, I cannot stand up for more than a minute or two and I live in constant, intense pain. I also live with internal damage caused by two separate trans-vaginal mesh implants which fused to my pelvic bone, damaged my intestines and my urethra and I required several skin grafts on my bladder. I lived with uterine fibroids for years, have had complex ovarian cysts and had a hysterectomy in my mid 30s.

I am also a survivor of repeated childhood rape from age 5-13 by my father and I was granted a divorce from my abusive ex for cruel and inhumane treatment after he admitted to the abuse in court.

I am joining the virtual march because I am a woman who has had and continues to have a number of health issues that require ongoing care, medication and monitoring by specialists. We as women should always have access to quality medical care. We should have quality health care for things like pap smears and other testing, as well as obtaining birth control or getting an abortion. While not everyone agrees with abortion, those views should never effect a woman’s ability to have an abortion by a medical professional.