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Just this weekend a friend of my was faced with this reality. She had carried her child with zero issues until 24 weeks. She already has a beautiful and healthy 3 year old. I can't tell you how devastating it was to the couple to find out that the child would be born brain dead. Literally months of anticipating only to have every dream and expectation come crashing down.

They spoke with their doctors, family and friends. What would be the best course of action. In the end, they made the choice that was right for them. It was a deeply personal and gut wrenching decision. My friend was in induced labor from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening. She finally gave birth to her child, who was brain dead and not breathing. They had a few moments to spend with their daughter and say goodbye. They are now moving into to the grieving process.

I want you all to understand that she made a choice for herself and her family. It was her choice to make. Not the government. Not the neighbors or the church. It was hers alone. This is what late term abortion is about. Not oops I made a mistake and want to get off this ride.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, abortions after 21 weeks make up less than 1.3% of all abortions in the United States. This means that abortions that occur beyond 24 weeks make up less than 1% of all procedures. There are many reasons why women may need to access abortion later in pregnancy, including maternal health endangerment, diagnosis of fetal abnormalities or restrictive laws delaying earlier access to abortion care. Those exceptionally rare cases that happen after 24 weeks are often because a fetus has a condition that cannot be treated and will never be able to survive -- regardless of the gestational age or trimester.

Stop treating this issue as if you all have the answers and have the right to make a final judgement on behalf of someone else. I would expect people to use their intelligence and logic to connect the medical dots that are being presented instead of thinking every woman is looking for a way out of pregnancy and is taking the easy way out.

I saw from first hand experience that there was NOTHING easy about what my friend just went through. The absolute devastation that has consumed this family is difficult to watch and the government should not be telling them how to handle her body or baby. The word abortion needs to stop being associated with women of loose morals or disregard for life.

Not your body. Not your choice.