This is a guest post from an activist friend who wishes to remain anonymous for reasons that will quickly be clear.

When I was 17, I had an abortion that went terribly wrong. A mistake in the operating room led to nerve damage and a lifelong struggle with chronic pain. Imagine a cheese grater dragging against your private parts every second of every waking hour. For the past 17 years, despite dozens of experimental treatments, medications, nine surgeries, injections, women's wellness retreats, and every type of psychological and physical therapy you can think of, pain has been a constant feature of my life.

After my first surgery, a vestibulectomy, I had to pee in a bath for weeks to avoid the stinging caused by urine getting into an open wound. Each subsequent surgery and unpredictable flare-up has left me couch-bound and isolated. Even though I’ve been in the comfort of my own home and with the company of visitors and my favorite characters on television, the loneliness has sometimes been crushing. Depression creeps in as I cancel plan after plan and miss out on the things that bring me joy.

People often ask me how I cope; how I manage to live a relatively normal, fulfilling life despite unrelenting pain, and my answer is always the same: Compared to those I've dedicated my life to fighting for, I've got it easy.

I first saw a video about animal cruelty when I was in college. The film depicted the life of a dairy........

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