I have never needed to consider terminating a pregnancy.

For personal or medical reasons.

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to say that, it’s a decision that is complex, difficult, heartbreaking and not made lightly.

I also have the financial privilege of being able to seek an abortion in another state if it was not an available option for me in my state.

That’s a privilege I don’t take lightly. And I recognize that because of that privilege I don’t know what it’s like to be in the position of a woman without it. Nor do I know what it is like to have had to terminate a pregnancy.

But I can do my best to listen, learn and do what I can for those who don’t share that same privilege. To not think about just my needs but those of others. To stand up for, vote for, fight for not only those alive right now but those who are to come. To plant the trees that will provide shade for future generations.

I grew up with a right to choose that I never had to use. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do all I can to make sure that other women, or my daughters and granddaughters have that same right- whether they choose to use it or not, regardless of their reason.

Sunday marks the end of women’s history month and the fact that I can go about my day, running two businesses and succeeding in the male dominated field of leadership, is because of the women who stood up not just for their rights but for those of women of generations to come. It’s because of men who recognized their privilege as a responsibility to open doors and insisted that there be room at the table for women. It’s because of women who cared about elevating other women more than keeping the view all to themselves.

Raising my daughters to be strong women means raising them to be kind, courageous, fair, compassionate, curious, to think of the needs of others as well as their own.

History is made by the actions of those in the present and remembered by those in the future. I’ll be casting my vote this year for the rights of women in honor of the women who made it possible for that vote to be cast