Like so many women, my reproductive rights and family planning journey has not been easy. As a young woman, I faced the challenge and heartbreak of infertility and was told by my trusted medical professionals that I was not a candidate for fertility treatment because my insurance provider would not approve it. After many years of trying, I finally conceived and experienced a very difficult pregnancy which led to giving birth to a 2 lbs. 10 oz preemie through emergency cesarean-section. My beautiful daughter survived and thrived, but between giving birth to my daughter and son I also suffered a miscarriage, which was painful and disheartening.

My story is not unique by any measure. Women around the country and the world have similar stories of struggle, loss, inequity, roadblocks, and incredibly difficult decisions around family planning and reproductive rights. Your mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, and friends likely have similar stories, many of them untold and held deep inside their hearts.

Many of these stories – told or untold – include the deeply personal decision to have an abortion, made for many different reasons – all of them valid. All Arizonans, and all people, deserve the right and freedom to make their own healthcare decisions, including the decision to have an abortion, without interference from politicians. Every patient should be treated with compassion, dignity, respect, and privacy.

This is why it is imperative that Proposition 139 passes. The Arizona Abortion Access Act would restore and solidify the protections Arizonans had under Roe vs. Wade as a Constitutional amendment, ensuring that patients can make their own decisions about their pregnancy with their families and their medical providers. A “yes” vote ensures patients, including those facing pregnancy complications or miscarriages, get the care they need without delays or restrictions that risk their health, fertility and even their lives.

Under current Arizona law, abortions may be carried out up to 15 weeks gestational age. However, because of ongoing court cases and legislative action, there is a possibility that whether, when, and how abortion is legal in Arizona might change in the future. An arbitrary abortion ban at 15 weeks is not acceptable, and without the protections of Prop. 139, anti-abortion extremists in Arizona and across the U.S. will continue pushing towards a total ban that robs patients, families and medical providers of the right to make the decision that is best for their unique situation. Prop. 139 protects access to abortion after 15 weeks gestation if a treating healthcare provider determines an abortion is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the patient, using accepted clinical standards and evidence-based medicine.

Every individual, regardless of political affiliation, deserves the right to decide what’s best for their body, their family and their health. Politicians shouldn’t have more control over our healthcare decisions than we do.

My two beautiful children are now young adults and will be making their own decisions on family planning. It’s painful to realize that if reproductive rights aren’t protected, they may have even fewer choices than I did, and fewer choices that are currently available to Arizona families. That they may not have autonomy over their bodies or the liberty of having the kind of family they want is frightening. To me, this seems like a very un-American direction and is not in alignment with the values and opportunities my family came to America seeking, which was to have a voice and a vote, and to live with freedom and dignity.

If we don’t vote for policies and people now who will protect reproductive rights, our children and their children may very well have fewer choices and freedoms than we do now. This fight is ours and for the generations to come. Please join with me to vote YES on Prop 139 and secure our freedom for reproductive rights and choices for Arizona women and families.

Magdalena Verdugo is CEO of the YWCA Southern AZ.