This was a sign. Here I am writing for the Herald on Sunday all post-abortive, not broken and not asking for forgiveness. The judgmental guilt trap approach to abortion is pungent and serves only despair.
The Family First and 40 Days crusades remind us that the freedom to express opinion should not hamper women's rights to dignity and to accessing healthcare.
This also shines a timely election-year torch on what needs to change in our provision of abortions. The anti-abortion drives are using Lent and women and I am using them. Deal done.
What the debate should focus on is access. Abortion is only legal if two consultants agree that there would be serious physical or mental harm to the woman's health, or if the foetus has a serious disability. As a result, 99 per cent of abortions are approved on "mental health" grounds. This is a forced dishonesty that also requires women to justify our decisions. This is not a lightly made lifestyle choice.
I acknowledge that abortion is not the ideal solution to unplanned pregnancies. I support the continual plea for better education, improved access to contraception and more support for adoption and whangai avenues.
In an election year, we should demand that any government will decriminalise abortion. I and many others are not criminals. This is a healthcare matter. And for Lent we should give up judgment.
• The Herald on Sunday will publish a range of different views "out of leftfield" over the next couple of months.