KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Megan McQuinn says she is frightened for young women like herself.
“It's been 24 hours, and I still just sit on my couch and go, 'Okay, it's a bad dream,'” said McQuinn, saddened by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
At 21 years old, McQuinn chose to get an abortion after her partner at the time informed her he was sterile.
“So because we were in a long-term monogamous relationship, I was not using birth control because I trusted my partner. He had lied to me, I had been manipulated,” she said. “It's something I wanted, especially at 21. Everything I ever wanted to do with my life is over because now I am tied to this man who is an abuser for the rest of my life, but now I have to start caring for someone else.”
Looking back, she is thankful to have been given that right to choose.
“While it was still a difficult choice, even though I knew it was a choice I still wanted to make, it's still not something that anyone makes lightly,” McQuinn said. “The relationship went on to grow to be increasingly more abusive, and it was very difficult to leave that relationship. I had the support and the resources to do so, and to think that I could be tied to that man for the rest of my life is unthinkable.”
Now McQuinn is concerned not only for the rights of women but for the rights of others in the country.
“This is bigger than just abortion. This is bigger than pregnancy. This is a much bigger moment," she said. “... If the court was willing to overturn 50 years, what makes you think that they are not just going to overturn Obergefell? What makes you think that they are just not going to say, 'Oh well, we overturned 50 years, so we're going to overturn 10 years as well.' It's a very dangerous precedent."
Prepared to face whatever the future brings, McQuinn is ready to stand with those who support the right to choose.
"I'm privileged that I am able to process this information, and I think that take your time, but don't take too much time. Come Monday morning, we've got a lot of work to do,” McQuinn said.
