A New Jersey woman filmed a video of her abortion in an effort to remove the stigma about the procedure.

Emily Letts, 25, filmed her procedure at the Cherry Hill Women's Center on Kings Highway. A clinic counselor at the center, Letts made the three-minute video as part of a contest that aims to remove the shame from abortion, USA Today reports.

Letts discussed her decision to get an abortion in an online essay for Cosmopolitan magazine.

"I knew I wasn't ready to take care of a child," she wrote. She also said that her partner was not involved in the decision.

The video has sparked both praise and criticism, as would be expected from such a controversial topic.

Letts, who is a former actress, said she used the video to show other women her personal experience, and to prove that women should not be ashamed to get the procedure done.

"Patients at the clinic always ask me if I can relate to them -- have I had an abortion?" she wrote. "I was so used to saying, 'I've never had an abortion but...' While I was pregnant and waiting for my procedure, I thought, 'Wait a minute, I have to use this.'"

Letts said her main mission is to show women that that there is no shame or guilt in getting an abortion.

"I know there are women who feel great remorse," she said. "I have seen the tears. Grieving is an important part of a woman's process, but what I really wanted to address in my video is guilt."

Letts' short film was one of two winners announced in April by the Abortion Care Network, the organizer of the contest that is a network of independent abortion providers.

Letts said that some online comments for her Cosmo piece applauded her courage, while others displayed "blind hatred."

"It will always be a special memory for me," she said of her abortion. "I still have my sonogram, and if my apartment were to catch fire, it would be the first thing I'd grab."

Check out Emily's video here.