My Letter to My Representatives

On Monday evening, I sent the following email to my representatives, Daniel McCay and Candice Pierucci:

Good evening,

I live in your district, and am concerned about HB467.

For the last 8 years, I have told my story often. When I was 21 and a student at BYU, I was drugged and violently raped in my apartment. I became pregnant as result of that rape. I went to Planned Parenthood because, though I had health insurance, I was not ready to admit what had happened to anyone (including myself most of the time), and needed the ability to find out my options without my parents finding out when they received the bill from our insurance company. Though I ultimately decided I could not go through with an abortion, Planned Parenthood saved my life by providing me with options, allowing me to take back some of the power that had been stripped from me, and I was charged next to nothing. As a poor college student, I could never have afforded to go to a hospital and not present my insurance information.

I know that if back then, my only option was to go to the hospital to receive an abortion, or even information on abortion, I would have felt backed into a corner and would have committed suicide (which would have been especially tragic given the pregnancy wasn’t viable and I miscarried shortly after deciding to not abort).

I am aware of the financial support for rape victims proposed in HB297 that could somewhat help in the scenario I described if passed, however, HB297 does not help women who were not raped, who desperately want their baby, but found out the baby has a terminal defect, and they do not have health insurance.

I implore you to vote no. This Bill will cause so much harm and force women who cannot afford to go to the hospital for an abortion to resort to dangerous, drastic measures at home.

I for one will not vote to re-elect anyone who is in favor of HB467.

Thank you for your time,

-Samantha Hansen

As of this evening, Thursday, March 2nd, I have not received a reply from either of my elected representatives. However, I hope others will consider my viewpoint.