Today is just too much. There is a protest on my street against abortion. The day before I am getting an abortion. Not that I didn’t want this baby-to-be. But things didn’t go my way and the embryo didn’t survive. I am, of course, devastated /1

Meanwhile, these protestors call people like me murderers. Regardless of the reason why a woman may choose to get an abortion, this is HER body, HER choice. I am sure they would prefer for me to sit in agony, waiting for an inevitable miscarriage. /2

But you see, I need to heal. I need my body to move on so I can grieve my loss. The thought of having to wait up to three weeks for a natural miscarriage to occur is beyond what I can cope with. /3

I was so upset that I decided to counter protest and created this sign. /4

Within two seconds, a man and a woman at the protest stopped me and claimed that what I was getting was not an abortion. We argued for 5 minutes. Eventually the man told me I was a liar, that I was making up this whole story, and was a bad actress. /5

The length at which pro-life people will go to in order to demean women, their choices, and their feelings is unfathomable. I’m disgusted. /6

I’m not one to share much about my personal life on twitter or other social media platforms. But if I can use my voice, my experience, to change one person’s mind today about women’s rights to have access to abortion, then at least something good /7

Will have come out of this painful experience. /8

And for god’s sake, if you don’t agree with me, just go away. I don’t have the mental strength right now to argue with any other bigots. Fin.

PS: Thank you all for your kind words; it warms my heart in this sad moment. I am touched by all of you who have shared your story of loss with me over PM. It is a sad reminder that my experience is all too common.

PPS: In response to the hate I experienced from so-called "pro-life" activists today, I made a donation to @UNFPA, an organization that provides emergency birthing kits to ensure mothers in crisis situations are able to bring their babies into the world as safely as possible.

Because that is what being pro-life means to me. It is not about controlling women's reproductive rights against their will. It's about supporting and empowering women.

And of course, I am all the more grateful today for @PPFA, who provides the medical care that women need. My monthly donations (a response to Trump's election in 2016) to this essential organization take some more personal meaning now that I've gone through this.