Last summer when my water broke early, I was nervous about the next moments for me and my baby — would we both be safe, and have the delivery I envisioned throughout my pregnancy? With the support of my birth team, this fear transformed into reassurance, knowing that the health of our family would be prioritized.

As an obstetrician and abortion provider practicing in Maryland, I’m privileged to support my patients in building their families on their own terms. I’ve shared in tears of joy when new and growing families are built, and have also shared in sorrow after devastating diagnoses, maternal health complications and complicated life circumstances that make pregnancy difficult or dangerous. My own preterm delivery and the privilege of motherhood have only reinforced why I do what I do.

One of my patients recently broke her water very early in pregnancy while traveling to a state where abortion is illegal. Her doctors could not even counsel her about options that would potentially save her from life-threatening bleeding or infection. Another endured the emotional and physical turmoil of undergoing a cancer workup early in pregnancy, weighing her options in order to be healthy, and just alive, for her 3-year-old daughter.

It is heartbreaking to think about what would have happened if these women were not able to access life-saving abortion care in Maryland. To me, being an abortion provider is how I can ensure the women in my community are supported and thriving with safety and dignity.

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We are living in a time that is testing our values of what it means to be healthy, to be safe and to be free. We must hold our leaders and elected officials accountable in protecting women’s rights to choose what is best for them and their families, and not what is best for their political party.

This Mother’s Day, we should celebrate the strong mother figures in our lives, those that hold us true to our characters and convictions, and fight for the reproductive liberation for the next generation.

Preetha Nandi is an obstetrician-gynecologist and abortion provider in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Banner publishes letters to the editor, exclusive to our publication, of no more than 350 words. Letters can be submitted for consideration to letters@thebaltimorebanner.com.