Uma Thurman Reveals She Had an Abortion as a Teen
The restrictive Texas abortion ban has drawn strong opinions from both sides of the political aisle, and actress Uma Thurman penned a brave op-ed in The Washington Post to denounce the law and shared her personal story with abortion. The Kill Bill actress admitted that when she was a teenager, she got pregnant while In a relationship with a much older man. She was living In Europe for work and didn't have the support nor position In her career to raise a child, so she decided to have an abortion after some guidance from her family. "My childish fantasy of motherhood was soundly corrected as I weighed answers to their very precise questions," Thurman wrote. "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."
Thurman recounted the kindness of the doctor who conducted her procedure, and explained that while an abortion was the right choice for her, getting one was still her "darkest secret." Thurman would go on to have three children later in her life, and she explained that there was no way she could have had the life that she did If she hadn't gotten the abortion when she was still a teenager. "My life has been extraordinary, at times filled with heartbreak, challenge, loss and fear — just like so many women's lives — but also marked, like theirs, by courage and compassion," Thurman continued. "I conceived my beautiful, magical children with men whom I loved and trusted enough to dare to bring a child into this world. I have no regrets for the path I have traveled. I applaud and support women who make a different choice. The abortion I had as a teenager was the hardest decision of my life, one that caused me anguish then and that saddens me even now, but it was the path to the life full of joy and love that I have experienced. Choosing not to keep that early pregnancy allowed me to grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be."
Thurman explained that she had nothing to gain but perhaps a lot to lose with this admission, but "I hope that some light will shine through, reaching women and girls who might feel a shame that they can't protect themselves from and have no agency over. I can assure you that no one finds herself on that table on purpose."
"The Texas abortion law was allowed to take effect without argument by the Supreme Court, which, due in no small part to its lack of ideological diversity, is a staging ground for a human rights crisis for American women," Thurman wrote, pointing out the Inequality that will fester. "This law is yet another discriminatory tool against those who are economically disadvantaged, and often, indeed, against their partners. Women and children of wealthy families retain all the choices in the world, and face little risk."
Ultimately, Thurman chooses to end on an encouraging note, expressing her solidarity with Texan women. "To all of you — to women and girls of Texas, afraid of being traumatized and hounded by predatory bounty hunters; to all women outraged by having our bodies' rights taken by the state; and to all of you who are made vulnerable and subjected to shame because you have a uterus — I say: I see you," she concluded." Have courage. You are beautiful. You remind me of my daughters."