I’m Catholic but needed an abortion. Kansas Constitution amendment would hurt families

With the election coming up, it is incredibly important for voters to understand that there are many nuances that can factor into a woman’s choice to terminate her pregnancy.

Conservatives like to position the debate as black and white, but it’s just plain gray.

My husband and I had to terminate our first pregnancy on June 1. It was the most difficult decision we have ever made. But for our family and our baby, it was the right one.

Our baby, Finn, was absolutely our whole world. So we were devastated when we found out that he had severe genetic issues.

At first, we spent days researching what we would need to do to give him a loving and fulfilling life. However, as we found out more, it was clear that Finn’s quality of life would be unacceptably low and very short.

While we received the probable diagnosis and all it entails at about 15 weeks, the pundit square you remember from school nevertheless said there was a 75% chance Finn wouldn’t receive the recessive gene. So we did what any parent would: We waited and waited for confirmation he was in that unlucky 25%.

We fielded the depressing call at 20 weeks into the pregnancy, as the test takes much longer than most because it is relatively new and rarely administered.

Therefore, we had about a week to make our decision and find a provider. That’s because we were cutting it close to the abortion cutoff date in the state of Kansas.

That’s it — one week. One week to weigh life’s toughest question.

We then discovered that we couldn’t even get the procedure in Kansas because the clinic would not touch pregnancies so close to the cutoff date for fear of legal liability. We didn’t even get a call back.

This meant we had to drive to Illinois, which has a cutoff date of 24 weeks. Not only did we incur the expense of a day’s worth of travel time, transportation and hotel, but Kansas state law prohibits insurance from covering the cost of a termination unless the mother’s life is in danger.

I fully acknowledge that my husband and I are incredibly lucky to be able to afford the care we needed, but many women are not — dare I say most women.

Being a practicing Catholic, there is the continued torture of believing you’re destined to hell. As any mom, though, I’m willing to risk everything if it means my beautiful baby will not suffer.

It is incredibly difficult to share this story. And I’m constantly reminded how many people only see the black and white as I drive past so many “Vote yes” signs for the amendment to the Kansas Constitution Aug. 2.

Even the ones who better understand the nuances and still plan to vote yes do not understand how much red tape and restrictions are already in place. If the amendment passes, politicians will be free to add stricter limitations, including a total ban.

“Vote yes” voters will tell you with utmost certainty how they’d handle the decision — what an easy call it is. Few ever actually face the decision in real life. But I have, so I can confidently and undoubtedly call it what it is: a pack of lies.

So, vote yes if you believe that your very narrow religious beliefs should not only trump my beliefs, but also my ability to make the best decision for me and my family.

This Catholic, though, will be voting no.