, she shared more of her story. "This was in the mid-1960's when women and girls were told if you didn't have a period, [you] should take quinine pills, sit in a tub of water or use a coat hanger if nothing else worked," said Lee. "I was one of the lucky ones… A lot of girls and women in my generation didn't make it. They died from unsafe abortions. In the 1960s, unsafe septic abortions were the primary killer, primary killer of African American women.
Jayapal told NBC News that testifying was important to her because it “makes it official." “It puts it in the record," she said. Jayapal, who chose to have an abortion after already being a mother, shared that her decision was influenced by her existing and possible health complications and her experience with postpartum depression after her first pregnancy.
"I did not suffer from living in a state that does not allow pregnant people to make these choices, and unlike one of my colleagues who was testifying today, I had the privilege of experiencing the world in a post-time where abortion was established as a constitutional right," Jayapal said during Thursday's hearing.
“My body ached and I had this heavy bleeding,” she said. “I felt so sick, I felt dizzy, nauseous. I felt like something was missing. I felt alone, but I also felt so resolved in my decision. Choosing to have an abortion was the hardest decision I had ever made. But at 18 years old, I knew it was the right decision for me. It was freeing knowing I had options. ”
Cori Bush is not the solution. Her policies are harmful to girls and their future