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2 NC women share personal stories of abortion

One story is filled with no regrets while the other features many.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A busy weekend just wrapped up with protests, on both sides, following the recently leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court suggesting Roe v. Wade could be overturned. 

While the fight over abortion rights is heating up, women are speaking out about their experiences with abortion. 

WCNC Charlotte's Lexi Wilson recently spoke to two different women who got abortions years ago. 

One woman has no regrets while the other has many.

The story of Betsy Gunz is one of survival.

“Making it illegal doesn’t make it go away, it just makes it unsafe and people will have the kinds of experience that I had," Gunz said. 

In college, at 20 years old, she found herself pregnant. She wasn't ready to have a baby. She said her boyfriend at the time struggled with mental health issues. 

“He and I drove to a small strip mall in Raleigh and a stranger picked us up and blindfolded us and took us to the house where the man who did the abortion lived. He did the abortion on a table in his house, they gave me whiskey to sedate me, which I could barely get down because I was a nondrinker," Gunz explained. "After the abortion, we were blindfolded again, taken back to the strip mall, I went back to the college dorm, my dorm room and waited and over a period of about four days I got sicker and sicker."

Gunz had developed sepsis. 

For about 3 months, she recovered at Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. 

“SBI agents came to my hospital room to question me because abortion was illegal, while I was still hoovering between life or death," Gunz said.

She went on to become a clinical social worker, have children, and grandchildren. '

To this day she has no regrets.

RELATED: 'Our community is desperate for our freedoms' | Hundreds rally in Charlotte for abortion rights

“The abortion allowed me to live into my calling, what I think maybe God intended for me," Gunz said.

But not everyone who's had an abortion feels the same. 

“It was one of those crowd mindsets, I guess if everyone is doing it, it’s okay and I immediately regretted it, immediately regretted it," Paige Brydon said.

Brydon had an abortion when she was 24 and worked in radio and as a professional model. She had just gotten out of a serious relationship. 

“I was depressed, I started using alcohol and drugs and was making bad relationships decisions," Brydon said.

But jump to now, Brydon is married with two sons. 

RELATED: Clarence Thomas: Supreme Court won't be 'bullied' after Roe leak

“God has an intention for every single child and I can speak to that as being a mother with a special needs child," Brydon said. 

She now is a part of the ministry with Surrendering the Secret Done with Restored Life, a division of Love Life - Charlotte. She advocates against abortion while offering support to women who are contemplating it. 

“There is help available to you, what do you need, we have it, we have it," Brydon said. 

She believes churches will step up even more to help those choosing to continue pregnancy. 

And if Roe v. Wade disappears, it's clear that may just inflame the rift within a divided country. 

Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

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