WASHINGTON - JANUARY 23:  Pro-choice activists (L) argue with Pro-life activists (R) on abortion issues in front of the U.S. Supreme Court January 23, 2006 in Washington, DC. Thousands of people took part in the annual ?March for Life? event to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Hear these anonymous CNN viewers share their personal stories and opinions of abortion
04:10 - Source: CNN

Editor’s Note: Marie Newman, a Democrat, represents Illinois’ third congressional district in the US House of Representatives. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. Read more opinion on CNN.

CNN  — 

In a deeply disappointing move, the Senate on Wednesday voted down a bill that would have protected the right of women in the United States to have an abortion. The Women’s Health Protection Act would have enshrined the right to an abortion in federal law, as well as the right of health care providers to perform abortion services.

Rep. Marie Newman

As a member of Congress, I was fervently hoping that the bill would pass. I voted for a similar House bill that passed earlier this year, amid staunch GOP opposition. For the past 50 years, although legal and safe, abortion has been considered a dirty word – one that even President Biden wouldn’t utter in public until just last week.

In reality, abortion is anything but dirty and anything but wrong. It can be life-affirming, and can restore hope and a sense of possibility to women who find themselves in the position of needing one.

I know that this is true, because I had one.

I was just 19 years old and about midway through college when I found out I was pregnant. There was absolutely no way I could afford to raise a child. I was already working two jobs, which hardly covered enough money to support myself.

But it wasn’t just my finances that drove my decision to end my pregnancy. In my heart, I knew one thing to be true: As a teenager barely out of childhood myself, I simply was not ready to take on the monumental responsibility of becoming a parent.

From that perspective, terminating the pregnancy, while a difficult act, was not a difficult decision. A few days after my positive pregnancy test, I visited a reproductive health care clinic not far from campus to have an abortion.

Looking back more than 30 years, I have no doubt that I made the right choice. I am grateful for that teenage version of myself who had the wisdom and the courage to make that difficult decision. And I’m even more grateful that I had the freedom to exercise that choice.

Like many faced with similarly difficult options, I had a life ahead of me, a career and endless opportunities that eventually put me in a place where I was one day ready to start a family. And when I finally became a mom, it was among the most wonderful, meaningful experiences of my life.

I have never questioned that pivotal choice of some three decades ago, and, to be honest, I never intended to share my story publicly. But with the Supreme Court poised to upend the constitutionally guaranteed right to an abortion in the United States, a right women in this country have had for a half-century, I felt it was time to tell my story.

Member's of the US Senate vote on the Women's Health Protection Act on May 11.

Abortion is a standard medical procedure, and a very common one at that. Nearly one in four women in the United States will have one by age 45. That means – whether they have told you or not – you probably have a friend, a family member or a coworker who has had an abortion.

My story is like that of millions of Americans who made this choice about their own bodies. And now that choice is under threat, after a leaked Supreme Court majority opinion showcased to the nation the very real likelihood that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. Suddenly, for many Americans, our worst fears – fears that this right might be taken away – have become an alarming reality.

But these fears aren’t felt just by women. They have reverberated across nearly every marginalized community. Since last week, activists, legal experts and even President Biden voiced concern that Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion terminating Roe could have dire consequences for other rights, including same-sex marriage and access to gender-affirming care.

This is personal for me not only because of my own abortion, but because I’m the mother of a trans woman. My daughter is terrified that if Roe is struck down, her civil rights will be next. She has seen Republican-led state legislatures attack and outlaw the rights of trans Americans, just as they have done with reproductive care.

I ran and won my election in 2020 against one of the last remaining anti-abortion and anti-LBGTQ+ Democrats in Congress. That’s exactly why I’m not going to let anyone tell me or my daughter what we can or cannot do with our bodies.

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    Last year, the House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act by a vote of 218-211, with every Democrat except one voting to codify abortion rights protections into federal law. Democrats control both chambers in Congress, as well as the White House, but the Senate bill Wednesday fell well short of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster.

    Ahead of the Senate vote, my office circulated a letter to Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia – who ended up voting against the measure – and to all Republican senators, amplifying my personal experience with abortion and underscoring the stories of countless women who have had abortions in the states they represent. As we press ahead in the fight to keep this vital, cherished constitutional right, I will continue to share the stories of the millions of women who have had an abortion – including my own.

    Here’s what has to happen now: We have to use every tool in our toolbox to get this legislation across the finish line. That starts with eliminating the filibuster. If we abolish that Senate rule, the Women’s Health Protection Act would need 50 votes to pass the Senate, as opposed to 60.

    The Senate measure on Wednesday got 49 votes, meaning we would need just one more courageous senator for the measure to pass in a filibuster-free Senate. And if we can’t find one, I can promise you voters will take notice in November and ensure that they’re present in the next Congress.