Many people grow more conservative as they get older. They start making more money, they pay more in taxes, they worry about the messages being sent to the youths. Perhaps they grow bitter and disillusioned and perhaps one day, they find themselves watching Fox News and agreeing with that kind of propaganda. I see that all the time. But can I just say? If anything, I’m getting more liberal/socialist/progressive with each year that passes. My views on all kinds of social issues, reproductive issues and women’s issues have all gotten MORE liberal. So it is with my views on abortion – when I was in college, most pro-choice candidates went with “legal, safe and rare” and I agreed with that. But as the restrictions on abortion access grow with each hellish year, I’m like 100% that person saying we need an abortion-providing Planned Parenthood on every corner. Every single woman needs access to abortion services, birth control services and free gynocological care at every f–king level. That’s where I am now: safe, legal abortions on demand for anyone who wants them. Make ‘em free. Make birth control free too.
I also appreciate that women are still telling their abortion stories publicly. Celebrity women have been increasingly vocal about reproductive rights, support for Planned Parenthood and their own personal abortion stories. On her podcast, Alyssa Milano is the latest – she spoke about getting two abortions in 1993.
Alyssa Milano has candidly detailed how she had two abortions just months apart while in her twenties after her birth control failed. The actress, 46, revealed that when she fell pregnant twice in 1993 she decided it was the ‘right choice’ to have the procedures, as she didn’t feel ‘ready’ to become a parent and her career was just taking off.
Speaking on her podcast Sorry not Sorry, she explained: ‘In 1993, I had two abortions. I was in love for the first time, in the breathless way you can only be in love when you are young. It was huge … It filled every part of living. It was a joyful and exciting and powerful time in my life.’
Another part of her decision was due to the fact she was taking medicine Accutane, which can cause birth defects in pregnancies. She said: ‘I still got pregnant [despite using birth control]. It was devastating. I was raised Catholic and was suddenly put in conflict with my faith. … I had a career and a future and potential. And also, I suffered from sometimes crippling anxiety. I wasn’t equipped to be a mother. I chose to have an abortion. I chose. It was my choice. And it was absolutely the right choice for me. It was not an easy choice. It was not something I wanted but it was something I needed – like most health care is.’
She said: ‘A few months later I found out I was pregnant again. And once again I made the right decision to end the pregnancy.’ Alyssa, who didn’t divulge who her partner was at the time, said she has no regrets and her life would have been very different if she hadn’t of had the abortions. She said: ‘I would not have my children — my beautiful, perfect, loving, kind and inquisitive children – who have a mother who was so very, very ready for them. I would not have my career. I would not have the ability or platform I use to fight against oppression with all my heart … I would never have been free to be myself – and that’s what this fight is all about: freedom.’
Her story is her story and her choice is her choice. It sounds like she was sad about it and she had some mixed feelings and Catholic guilt, but she knew then that she was not ready for motherhood. And that’s fine – there are all kinds of emotions for some women, and utter certainty for other women and that’s exactly why it’s every individual woman’s choice.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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