My life started out as Baby Girl Martinez, in Santa Ana, California. When I was three days old, my biological mother chose a couple to adopt me. Life was idyllic, growing up in a modest one-story home in a working-class neighborhood near Disneyland, raised by my loving adoptive parents, both immigrants.Cancer took my adopted mom when I was just eight years old. I felt ripped off, having lost not one, but two mothers.
I had the support of friends, coworkers and neighbors who gave me the courage and confidence I needed to be a mom.I knew that there were other women who didn't have the advantages I had. But in a country that is rich with resources, programs, education, and career opportunities, there is no reason we can't provide what women need to be mothers.Every woman deserves equal access to motherhood.I believe that a woman can have a baby and have a career.