Note: As the year comes to a close, we're offering a series of longer, more personal reflections from our leadership team. For so many of us, political work is deeply personal. We hope these stories resonate with you as we navigate the path ahead together.

John,

As the year comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on both the work we’ve done together and some profound changes in my own life. This was the year I became a mother — something I chose to do later in life, on my own timeline. I’m deeply aware of how fortunate I was to have the resources, support, and legal protections to make that choice freely.

My pregnancy and birth were high-risk, and that experience illuminated — in a deeply personal way — just how many decisions are required along the way: decisions about my health, my safety, my child, and our future. With health insurance and a supportive care team, I was able to make the choices that were right for me and my family, without government interference. That experience reinforced something I’ve long believed: reproductive freedom includes safe, legal abortion access – and it also requires access to comprehensive care and real options, including contraception, prenatal and maternal health care, and the resources and support that make those options possible.

Becoming a parent in this political moment has sharpened my sense of urgency. I’m learning to raise a child while watching fundamental freedoms come under threat, while worrying for the safety and dignity of my neighbors, and while confronting the reality that millions of people do not have the same freedoms I relied on this year. Parenting has made “holding the line” not just a professional commitment, but an act of love and responsibility.

And yet, for all the heaviness of this moment, I’m also carrying tremendous hope — hope rooted in what we accomplished together this year. Across the country, communities protected and cared for one another, groups organized and marched, and voters showed up to reject extremism and affirm that the majority still believes in autonomy, dignity, and compassion. These victories are a powerful reminder that when we invest early and stand together, we can shift the course of what’s possible.

The challenges ahead in 2026 are real, but so is our momentum. I enter the new year with renewed purpose — as a parent, as an advocate, and as someone who believes in the power of this community to protect and expand reproductive freedom.

That freedom should be a universal right, not a privilege that depends on where you live or how much you can afford.

Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for believing in this work. And thank you for helping build a future where every person can make the choices that allow them to live, grow, and thrive on their own terms. With gratitude and hope,

Carly LeQuire
Chief Program Officer
Vote Pro-Choice