'Nothing to be ashamed of': Utah woman shares abortion story

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (KUTV) — Eight years ago, Heather Dinsmore had an abortion.

The Salt Lake City resident is sharing her story, saying that "choosing not to bring a child into the world is nothing to be ashamed of."

At the time, she had just moved to New York with her husband of three years. She was also about six weeks pregnant.

"At this point," Dinsmore said, "It was not a healthy marriage."

She was jobless, and the couple had no insurance.

"I feel like it was the best decision I could have made," she said, adding that she always thinks about the abortion and the baby. "She would have been 6 in May."

Dinsmore said she didn't regret the decision, though, especially after she and her husband divorced.

"I think about being a single mother, getting paid what I get paid and what her life would be like," she said.

She now works with victims of domestic violence, and she said many young women in Utah who are poor or are in violent situations would be forced into parenthood in a state that doesn't offer enough help.

"I see a lot of people who are seeking help and have a lot of children," Dinsmore said. "Young children. And those children are experiencing the abuse."

Making most abortions illegal in Utah will take women back to a dangerous time, she said.

"I think we will go back to the way (it was) before it was legal," Dinsmore said. "Back alley. Dangerous."

She added, "I think a lot of women will die."

Dinsmore believes the decisions women make about their own reproductive systems should not be a crime.

“I don’t think anyone should tell women what to do with their bodies," she said. "I could have the opinion that you have too many children, but I would never have that opinion so much that I feel we need to change the law to limit how many children you have”