I started my career working in reproductive health and abortion care. Every day I heard powerful stories from patients, co-workers, and community members about how having freedom to peruse the healthcare they needed allowed them to direct their own lives and care for their own bodies. I know bodily autonomy saves lives. Hearing all the different paths, stressors, and circumstances people navigate made me realize I will never know what is best for someone else, but I can listen and trust people to know what they need.

In my later work as a trauma therapist, I learned the psychological importance of choice. Psychologists know that one of the biggest predictors of a bad traumatic experience is a lack of control, and that when people feel that they have a degree of choice in their lives they are able to navigate intense and challenging experiences with far lower risks of lasting harm. No matter what someone chooses, having the sense of freedom to choose can literally impact mental health and resilience for years to come.