In reaction to the near-total abortion ban that’s now in effect in Texas, Uma Thurman has shared her own experience terminating a pregnancy as a teenager
In a deeply personal op-ed for, Thurman recounts her abortion—referring to it as her “darkest secret”—which she underwent in her late teens after being impregnated by a much older man while living abroad in Europe. She discusses originally wanting to keep the baby, but after weighing the realities of single motherhood with her parents, deciding it was ultimately not the best choice for her or the baby.
For the procedure, Thurman was accompanied by an older female friend in Germany who took her to a doctor’s office in Cologne. “It hurt terribly, but I didn’t complain,” she says of undergoing the procedure. “I had internalized so much shame that I felt I deserved the pain.” Despite the emotional and physical hurdles of her abortion, Thurman is grateful she was able to have access to a safe procedure along with support from family and friends.
Bringing it back to the broader issue of anti-abortion laws in Texas and across the country, Thurman believes that the Supreme Court’s refusal to block the law ending most abortions in Texas is, in essence, “staging ground for a human rights crisis for American women.” Not to mention is inherently prejudiced given that it disproportionately impacts low-income Black and Latinx patients.
In shedding light on what it was like to have an abortion, and what it meant to her to be able to so, Thurman hopes to help women and girls—especially those living in Texas—to shed shame, feel empowered to have agency over their bodies, and know that they are being seen and heard during this attack on their human rights.
For information on how to petition against the law or to support organizations and abortion-fund groups that will help patients leave Texas in order to receive care, you can find resources here courtesy of the
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