My husband and I were good and caring parents, and we wanted a large family of four children. By the time I was 25, we had a 3 1/2 year old daughter and a 2 1/2 year old son, and I was pregnant with our third child. In my first trimester, I caught what seemed to be a simple cold. When I developed a very high fever, I was diagnosed with the measles. For an adult, the measles is like a bad case of the flu, but for a fetus, it is a disaster.

My husband was an obstetrician and understood what a profound effect the measles would have on the fetus. Subsequent tests confirmed our worst fears. If I carried my pregnancy to term, our baby would likely be blind, deaf, and severely brain damaged. Everybody we spoke to in the medical community was convinced that the fetus would be severely affected. We were so frightened and so sad as we considered our options.

We were anxious to have more children, but we did not want our child to suffer and to feel such terrible pain. We weighed our responsibility to our unborn child and made the heart-wrenching decision that bearing this child wasn't the responsible thing to do. We decided to seek an abortion.

My obstetrician was sympathetic, but said that he could not help because abortion was illegal and that he and I could be prosecuted and jailed for terminating my pregnancy. At the time, the only way to obtain an abortion legally was if the life of the mother was threatened.

I was absolutely not going to have an illegal abortion, which could be terribly dangerous. I knew women who went to San Francisco or Mexico, not knowing whether they would come back healthy — or come back at all. In desperation, they were forced to make those horrible, life-threatening choices because abortion, which could have been done simply and safely by licensed physicians, was illegal. My husband had seen so many women with botched abortions who had been dumped on the front lawn of the hospital where he worked. It was a frightening time for women.

My doctor said there was another possibility. Because I have only one kidney, we might be able to persuade a panel of physicians at the hospital to recommend terminating the pregnancy because it placed my life in danger.

We hung our hopes on this chance. My doctor presented my case to the physicians. They were willing to approve the abortion, but only if I had a total hysterectomy so that my life would never again be "threatened" by a pregnancy.

I faced a dreadful choice. I could carry a severely damaged fetus to term or lose my fertility forever. I adored and enjoyed my children and loved the idea of having more. But as someone who loves children, I could not bring a child into the world who was going to be severely damaged. It would not be responsible to do so nor would it be fair to my two little children who also had real needs.

We made a choice — a difficult, painful choice — but one that was right for me and for my family. We chose the abortion — and the hysterectomy that went with it.

All of these deliberations took so long that I was four months pregnant when they finally did the hysterectomy. The surgery, under general anaesthesia, was a lot more dangerous than an abortion would have been.

We were both very, very sad about our experience — very, very sad. I had my kids to think of, so I got on with life, but it was depressing. One of the most depressing aspects was that somebody else had made a decision for me that I was quite capable of making.

Today, I have a loving husband, two wonderful children and a grandchild who brings me enormous joy. My life is very fulfilling and I look forward, not back. I remain angry, however, that a responsible, loving family was put in that position.

I am a very private person, and I didn't tell anyone outside my family about my experience. I've always been a fighter for choice, but there comes a time when you really have to put yourself on the line. I decided to speak out about my experience to warn people about the dangers if this right is taken away.

For the last several years, anti-choice Members of Congress have been attacking a woman's right to choose. Step by step, they are very effectively chipping away at our basic right. If you are a federal employee, you cannot choose a health insurance plan that covers abortion. The District of Columbia cannot use its own funds to pay for abortions for its low-income residents. And if you are stationed overseas in the military, you cannot have an abortion in a military hospital even if you paid for it with your own money.

With these insidious votes — take a little bit of a right here, then a little bit of a right there — pretty soon you're left with a pretty empty right. That is why we must be ever vigilant to ensure that the right to choose is not left in the hands of politicians who know nothing whatsoever about you or your circumstances.

I am also telling my story because I am concerned that young women don't know what it was like when abortion was illegal. And they don't realize that they have to keep fighting to safeguard the right to safe, legal abortion.

I am not afraid to speak out. I am a fighter. I fought against apartheid when I lived in South Africa. I fought for civil rights in the U.S. I'm determined to warn people that a woman's right to choose is not something abstract — it is a very real right — and without it, women will die again from botched abortions.

Opponents of choice, by focusing the political debate on abortion late in pregnancy, are using sensational graphics and rhetoric to further their goal of making all abortion illegal. As part of their strategy, the 106th Congress passed a bill outlawing so-called "partial-birth" abortion, "Partial-Birth" Abortion Ban Act of 2000 HR 3660.

The bill passed by the 106th Congress prevents doctors from exercising their best medical judgement, applies to abortions before and after viability, and contains no exception for when a banned procedure is necessary to preserve a woman's health.

To learn more about the laws in your state, read the NARAL state by state chart of bans on late term abortions.

Click here to find out if your Congressperson voted for HR 3660.