DALLAS — Maegan Gross, 30, got pregnant at 20 years old and wasn't ready to be a mother.
Gross got an abortion in Texas in 2012. At 28, however, Gross became pregnant again and chose to have a child. She's now the mother of a 22-month-old little boy.
"I became a mother when I was ready," she told WFAA's Teresa Woodard.
On Friday, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years. In Texas, the state has already passed a “trigger law,” making most abortions illegal.
Gross told WFAA the landmark ruling gave her a mixture of emotions.
"I'm angry. I'm emotional. I'm sad. I'm worried for the future of America," Gross said. "This is just insane."
"I had an abortion when I was 20 ... I had the right to choose," Gross added. "The fact that now women aren't going to be able to have that choice is just heartbreaking to me."
The decision by the court's conservative majority overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling and is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the U.S. states.
The ruling, unlikely just a few years ago, was the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents, made possible by an emboldened right side of the court fortified by three appointees of former President Donald Trump.
Gross told WFAA the ruling made her feel devalued and degraded.
"I wasn’t put on this earth to be an incubator. I wasn’t put on this earth solely to bear children and I feel reduced to that. I feel reduced to nothing," Gross said. "It's frustrating and it's humiliating."
Abortion foes cheered the ruling, but abortion-rights supporters, including President Joe Biden, expressed dismay and pledged to fight to restore the rights. Many Texas leaders, politicians, organizations and local religious leaders have issued split opinions.
"No woman should be forced to become a mother when she’s not ready," Gross saod. "And I just really hope that one day for our daughters’ futures that this won’t be the case."
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