Location: Oakland, CA

I am an undocumented immigrant. When I was 28 I was in deportation proceedings and found out I was pregnant. I knew that I did not want to be pregnant given everything else going on in my life. It would be disingenuous to say that my immigration case did not impact my decision.

​Sometimes life is complicated, but my decision to have an abortion was not complicated. I found out I was pregnant and scheduled my appointment immediately. Two days later I had my abortion and felt ​relieved. My decision was empowering, it made me feel in control of my own destiny at a moment where my future was at the hands of the state.

I want people who hear my story to know that everyone, regardless of their immigration status, needs access to reproductive justice.