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29 Celebrities Who Revealed They Had An Abortion And Talked About What It Was Like

29 Celebrities Who Revealed They Had An Abortion And Talked About What It Was Like

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The United States just went back in time half a century into the reality before Roe v. Wade as the Supreme Court overruled it on Jun 24, 2022. Now there is no national law protecting women’s reproductive rights, leaving that decision to state governments. More than half of them already have plans to ban abortion completely or have strict requirements under which it can be carried out.
The decision caused much agitation in the United States and women are speaking up about what consequences it can have as well as their own experiences demonstrating that abortion should be considered a fundamental right.
Through the years, many celebrities have also opened up about having abortions and what it was like for them. It was never an easy decision to make and these women had consequences to deal with, such as experiencing judgment from other people and coping with their own thoughts. But they did it, no matter if it was legal or not, because it was their lives and their decisions to make.

#1 Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd
I'm very thankful I was able to access safe and legal abortion. Because the sexual abuser, who is a Kentuckian, as am I, and I reside in Tennessee, has paternity rights in Kentucky and Tennessee. I would've had to co-parent with my sexual abuser.
193points

#2 Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg
I found out I was pregnant when I was 14 years old — I didn't get a period. I talked to nobody. I panicked. I sat in hot baths. I drank these strange concoctions girls told me about — something like [Johnnie] Walker Red with a little bit of Clorox, alcohol, baking soda — which probably saved my stomach — and some sort of cream. You mixed it all up. I got violently ill. At that moment I was more afraid of having to explain to anybody what was wrong than of going to the park with a hanger, which is what I did.
163points

#3 Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King
Anyone seeking an abortion [in the early '70s] had to obtain approval from a hospital committee — that is, tell a panel of strangers why they believed their pregnancy would 'gravely impair' their physical and mental health. Arguing to a dozen or so people I had never met why I qualified for an abortion remains one of the most degrading experiences of my life
158points

#4 Laura Prepon

Laura Prepon
Our neonatal specialist told us the brain was not growing and the bones were not growing. We were told the pregnancy would not go to full term and that my body was at risk carrying any longer. We had to terminate the pregnancy.
141points

#5 Busy Philipps

Busy Philipps
It's not brave for me to say I had an abortion at 15, because it's a medical thing — a thing, a choice that I made, and I don't regret it at all. This shame [was] perpetrated on me, but I don't have a shame. I'm glad I didn't have that guy's baby. I'm OK. ... We hold on to these things as to not make men uncomfortable, but I'm ready for them to start holding it.
139points

#6 Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem
I was in London because I had a fellowship in India, and I was awaiting my visa. So I was living in London [and] working as a waitress in order to support myself. I had all the usual fantasies [to terminate my pregnancy] — maybe if I go horseback riding, maybe if I throw myself down the stairs. Our minds race through all possible alternatives, and it was sheer luck of going to a doctor whose name I found in the telephone book. It was due to his kindness [and] due to his looking at me and saying, 'If you promise never to tell anyone my name, I will help you.' So he sent me to a woman doctor who actually did the procedure
129points

#7 Phoebe Bridgers

Phoebe Bridgers
I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour. I went to Planned Parenthood, where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access.
124points

#8 Rose Mcgowan

Rose Mcgowan
I have had an abortion and I support this message. I am not ashamed, nor should you be. That 60% of those who choose to have abortions are already mothers says a lot- they understand more than anyone. I was on birth control and it failed.
124points

#9 Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman
[My abortion] has been my darkest secret until now. I am 51 years old, and I am sharing it with you from the home where I have raised my three children, who are my pride and joy. ... I was just starting out in my career and didn't have the means to provide a stable home, even for myself. We decided as a family that I couldn't go through with the pregnancy, and agreed that termination was the right choice. My heart was broken nonetheless. ... It hurt terribly, but I didn't complain. I had internalized so much shame that I felt I deserved the pain.
123points

#10 Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks
If I had not had that abortion, I'm pretty sure there would have been no Fleetwood Mac. There's just no way that I could have had a child then, working as hard as we worked — and there were a lot of drugs. I was doing a lot of drugs … I would have had to walk away. I knew that the music we were going to bring to the world was going to heal so many people's hearts and make people so happy, and I thought: You know what? That's really important. There isn't another band in the world that has two lead women singers [and] two lead women writers. That was my world's mission.
122points

#11 Milla Jovovich

Milla Jovovich
I went into pre term labor and told that I had to be awake for the whole procedure. It was one of the most horrific experiences I have ever gone through. I still have nightmares about it. I was alone and helpless. When I think about the fact that women might have to face abortions in even worse conditions than I did because of new laws, my stomach turns.
121points

#12 Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano
I knew at that time, I was not equipped to be a mother, and so I chose to have an abortion. I chose. It was my choice. And it was absolutely the right choice for me.
119points

#13 Minka Kelly

Minka Kelly
When I was younger I had an abortion. It was the smartest decision I could've made, not only for myself & my boyfriend at the time, but also for this unborn fetus. Having a baby at that time would have only perpetuated the cycle of poverty, chaos and dysfunction I was born into.
115points

#14 Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj
I thought I was going to pass away — I was a teenager. It was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through. It'd be contradictory if I said I wasn't pro-choice — I wasn't ready. I didn't have anything to offer a child.
105points

#15 Jameela Jamil

Jameela Jamil
I had an abortion when I was young, and it was the best decision I have ever made. Both for me and for the baby I didn't want, and wasn't ready for, emotionally, psychologically, and financially. So many children will end up in foster homes, [and] so many lives [will be] ruined.
104points

#16 Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler
Of course, the idea that I would have a child and raise it by myself at that age, when I couldn't even find my way home at night, was ridiculous. My parents recognized that, so they acted like parents for one of the very first times in my life and took me to Planned Parenthood.
89points

#17 Amber Tamblyn

Amber Tamblyn
In 2012, I had an abortion. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I still think about it to this day. But these truths do not make me regret my decision. It was the right choice for me, at that time in my life. I have not a single doubt about this
88points

#18 Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno
Marlon took me to the hospital. I had what they told me was a 'disturbed pregnancy'. The doctor didn't do anything really, except make me bleed. In other words, he didn't do it right. I didn't know it then, but I could have pass away. What a mess. What a dreadful mess.
85points

#19 Cheryl Burke

Cheryl Burke
I was two weeks pregnant when I got an abortion. I remember rolling up to Planned Parenthood with picketers holding anti-abortion signs and that alone was traumatic. But, on top of it all, the whole process is traumatic and the fact that now, you're making it illegal for us women to make this decision about our own bodies is absolutely insanity.
82points

#20 Keke Palmer

Keke Palmer
I was worried about my career responsibilities and afraid that I could not exist as both a career woman and mother. Twitter is sometimes too flat and too short to express intimate sentiments — words without context [can be] very annoying. I am disheartened hearing about the [Alabama abortion ban]. I feel as if women's rights are going backwards, and individual choice is being taken. I'm truly so confused at the world and the policies that follow
76points
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29 Celebrities Who Revealed They Had An Abortion And Talked About What It Was Like | Bored Panda