California lawmaker discusses personal experience with abortion

Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) opened up about considering an abortion when she had an unplanned pregnancy at age 18, as several states have advanced or passed legislation restricting abortions in recent days. 

“In this particular situation, there’s a shame involved, right?” Hill told CNN in an interview, noting that she and her now-husband were using birth control at the time. “There’s this piece of ‘What did I do wrong?’ I felt like I was playing by the rules. How are people going to judge me and what does this mean for my life if I decide to do what I felt like I might just need to do? And how would that change things forever?” 

“It’s all you can think about, and knowing how much that was going to change your life,” the freshman Democrat added. “And … what it would mean if I did have an abortion and how I might regret it forever.” {mosads}

Hill told the news network that about six weeks into her pregnancy, while she was still making the decision, she miscarried. 

“I felt like ‘OK, this made the decision for me and it’s not meant to be right now,’ but at the same time, it is a loss,” she said. “And I think even for women who terminate a pregnancy it’s a loss. I’ve heard that over and over again.”

The abortion debate has escalated in recent days after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Wednesday signed a bill outlawing almost all abortions. Earlier this month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a bill to outlaw abortion after around six weeks. Missouri’s state legislature on Friday sent a bill to its governor that would make abortion illegal after eight weeks. 

Hill said that these states are “criminalizing something that is already so, so difficult for somebody to have to go through.”

Hill also tweeted about her unplanned pregnancy amid news of the abortion ban and limits.  

When I was 18, I had an unplanned pregnancy. Even though I had a miscarriage, I can’t imagine what it would have been like to face that impossible situation without a choice — the government has no place in a decision this personal. #AbortionIsAWomansRight https://t.co/HXh9WOzmIZ

— Rep. Katie Hill (@RepKatieHill) May 16, 2019