Stories connect us all. 

Real Stories.
Real Vermonters.

"I came out in 2020, and when the time came I actually had an appointment on my birthday to do the final approval for testosterone, under the informed consent model. Everyone was so happy for me, and I left that office feeling like things might be alright for the first time since coming out. After so many years of wanting this future for myself, my local office helped me to reach out and grasp it."

"Come May, I knew I was pregnant just one day after my missed period - which was particularly disconcerting because I was rockin’ the copper IUD. This is scary because, when a patient has a positive pregnancy test with an IUD in place, it can sometimes be an indicator of a potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancy. I was terrified."

"But, my experience at PPNNE was different. My provider listened. She took her time. She understood. She believed me when I told her that something was wrong. I was so relieved, I cried. Better yet, she had ideas. She recognized I needed specialized care and knew who to refer me to."

"I found out I was pregnant on a Tuesday afternoon. I took a test, but I didn't really need to. My body already knew the answer that the little plastic window confirmed. I felt joy! But so many other feelings came with that joy, and they flooded over me during the hour drive home that day. "

"My husband and I wanted to have two children. I had a healthy and easy first pregnancy and birth, and when our son was about 2 years old, I became pregnant a second time. About 16 weeks into that pregnancy, the genetic screen revealed that the baby had a genetic anomaly."

"It was 2016, and a few months later, my then-fiancé/now-husband and I moved to Vermont. Donald Trump became president, and that next week, I phoned Planned Parenthood and made an appointment to get a copper IUD. It came with the side effects of heavy cramps and empowerment."

"Yes, it’s happened to me. We talked about birth control; we had only been together a few months. To be honest, I think I kind of assumed she was on birth control."

"For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a midwife. Maybe this is because it was a midwife's hands who caught me before the laws had caught up."

"Reproductive freedom means not only having access to important resources, but having a working knowledge of what those resources are. Access to legal and safe abortion is important for when that’s necessary, but we also need the education piece."