My body MY CHOICE?

As millions of women across America fight to keep their legal right to abortion, Woman investigates

- BESS BROWNING

One in three women have an abortion. One in three of us will go through this often traumatic, life-changing procedure. The decision might be made because the woman has been a victim of rape or incest. It might be made because that woman might die if she doesn’t terminate her pregnancy.

No matter the circumstances, the decision is never easy or straightforward. Yet, imagine if it was illegal, too?

That is a reality for millions of women across the world because what they can – and can’t – do with their own bodies is dictated by the laws of the country in which they live. And now, American women face that stark possibility, too. Almost 50 years since America legalised abortion, a leaked document shows that the US Supreme Court is set to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade decision and throw the door open for individual states to make abortion illegal once again.

There has been public outcry as women fear their freedom is soon to be snatched away. And not just their freedom, but their safety, too – taking away legitimate abortion care ultimately leaves women at risk of undergoing unsafe procedures.

‘IT WAS THE HARDEST DECISION I’VE EVER HAD TO MAKE’

Helen Morgan, 38, lives in Caerphilly with her three daughters. Everyone has a different, personal reason for having a termination and it is not, perhaps, the reason many will assume.

For me, I wanted my baby desperately, despite the traumatic events which had led up to my pregnancy. You see, I was only 13 years old when I was raped by a 19-year-old man and fell pregnant.