My husband and I have yet to make a decision on the pregnancy. We have elected to first get more scans of the baby’s anatomy, which will help our doctors assess the immediacy of a miscarriage. The mere consideration over whether to terminate is gut-wrenching in a way that will leave me forever changed. I wouldn't wish the circumstances of such a decision on any woman.

In the meantime, I carry my grief in a visible bump, with all of the usual symptoms of pregnancy as a constant reminder that my little girl isn’t to be. I could very well carry her for one, two, three, four more months, my body continuing to stretch, strangers continuing to excitedly comment, my loved ones unable to find the right words, my husband silently suffering as he watches both his girls struggle, my face continuing to belie my grief, my heart continuing to break.

It should be within my rights to decide whether or not I want to carry a child who will not make it to term. It should be my decision to choose to suffer my grief for the little girl I desperately want and will not have in the way that best allows me to continue my life as the woman, wife, and, God willing, future mother I am.

With all my strength and resolve and so many empathetic tears for the women who make the difficult considerations and decisions — including those in Ohio — I firmly assert:

IT’S MY BODY.

IT’S MY CHOICE.

Governor John Kasich, if you hear my story, understand my grief, I say to you this: Please don’t take this very personal and heartbreaking decision from women like me. Veto the "Heartbeat Bill" provision before you today.

*Name partially withheld to protect the privacy of the author.