I am an abortion provider. I am, of course, a lot of other things, too — a woman, an obstetrician-gynaecologist, a mother. But being an abortion provider continues to shape my life and its trajectory, because I believe it is the most important thing that I will ever do.

I came to this work rather deliberately. I attended college knowing that I wanted to become a doctor. I went to medical school knowing that I wanted to help women. I became an obstetrician-gynaecologist knowing that providing abortions was an integral part of the care that women require and deserve.

I was also raised in a Christian home in Lexington, SC. My family went to church regularly, said prayers before meals, and I was taught from childhood that it was my duty to help people in need and leave the world a better place than I found it. The patients I see every day are so clearly people in need — and the medical care I provide them is both life-changing and, in many circumstances, life-saving.

The compassion and empathy I learned from my Christian faith are fundamental to my work. Too often, women who choose to have an abortion face significant stigma and shame — I see it every day. Patients have to walk by protestors screaming “murderer” and much worse just to get inside my clinic. One patient, a mother of four, couldn’t stop telling me why she was getting an abortion, clearly feeling as though she needed to explain herself to me after walking by the protestors. She kept telling me that she already had a large family, she was struggling with money, her pregnancies were high-risk, and her partner agreed with her — anything she could think of to make sure I understood her life and situation. Even to her abortion provider, she felt obligated to justify her decision, a task no one should ever have to do.

Sadly, this is all too common. My heart goes out to every woman who asks me if I think she is a bad person for seeking medically or personally necessary, legal care. But my faith teaches me to withhold judgment and to extend acceptance to all, and although she may not be ready to hear it at that moment, I always provide her with the reassurance that she needs. Good, moral women have abortions every day, and it’s my obligation as a physician and a person of faith to provide at least one counterpoint to the shameful feelings a woman has and the misinformation she hears that cause her so much pain.