For religious folks, abortion is a point of content. It has led to countless marches in the name of, or in protest of the sensitive subject.
Naturally, for celebrities, this controversial topic is never discussed out loud. With cancel culture being so rampant, one misquote on this subject can get them into a lot of heat from the conservative crowds.
And if we have learned anything from the Trump administration, these folks can be very rowdy.
Whether they are pro-life or pro-choice, most celebrities prefer to keep their mouth shut on this topic. For them, not being controversial is a matter of survival. Some even learn maneuvers to avoid these questions in interviews.
But for others, speaking up to support pro-choice shows courage. Especially since it allows women to choose what to do with their bodies. And who else can speak about abortion rights, than the celebrities who have gone through the procedure themselves. Here are 20 pro-choice celebrities who speak out about going through the procedure.
#1 Stevie Nicks
Source: ANGELA WEISS
"I'm very convinced there would have been no Fleetwood Mac if I hadn't had the abortion," Stevie Nicks told The Guardian in 2020. Nicks had an abortion in 1979, claiming that she was too busy working to have a child. "I knew the music we were about to deliver to the world would heal so many people's hearts and make so many people happy." And I said to myself, "You know what? That is really crucial.”
#2 Uma Thurman
Source: David Livingston
Uma Thurman wrote an editorial in The Washington Post in September 2021 detailing her abortion as a 15-year-old in the hopes of influencing public opinion over the ludicrous Texas abortion law. "I was just beginning out in my job and didn't have the financial wherewithal to build a secure house for myself or anybody else." "As a family, we decided that I couldn't carry the baby any longer and that abortion was the best option," she wrote. "I had absorbed so much humiliation that I believed I deserved the pain," she says of the operation.
#3 Whoopi Goldberg
Source: Dia Dipasupil
Angela Bonavoglia's 2001 book The Choices We Made featured 25 women discussing their abortion experiences, including Whoopi Goldberg. The talk show host had an abortion at the age of 14 under tragic circumstances. In the book, she discusses attempting a variety of potentially lethal ways, including consuming dangerous drugs. Goldberg's tale should never be repeated. Abortion medications have made self-managed abortion safe and simple.
#4 Keke Palmer
Source: E! Entertainment
Palmer posted but subsequently deleted, that she had an abortion at the age of 24. "I was concerned about my professional obligations and scared that I wouldn't be able to function as both a career woman and a mother," she wrote. "Making unique decisions is not a betrayal of your religion," she continued. Mostly because God is aware of your heart and journey. God never passes judgment. I despise the fact that it's always this vs that, rather than 'I understand YOUR PERSPECTIVE.'"
#5 Nicki Minaj
Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Nicki Minaj told Rolling Stone in 2014 that becoming pregnant as a teenager and opting to have an abortion was "the toughest thing I'd ever gone through." "I was afraid I was going to die," she admitted. The rapper was just 16, and she described the experience as "haunting," even though she remains pro-choice. "I wasn't prepared," she said. "I couldn't give a child anything." Abortion is a difficult decision for some women. Others find it simple and straightforward. In any case, it should be safe, legal, and accessible.
#6 Lil’ Kim
Source: Steven Ferdman
Lil' Kim became pregnant at the age of 18, just as her career was beginning to take off. According to BET, Kim told The Breakfast Club radio show, "I don't know whether I have regrets about not keeping it." I do this at times and not at others. But then I'd think, 'What about my career?'"
#7 Cecily Strong
Source: Rich Fury
In 2021, comedian Cecily Strong appeared as Goober the Clown on Saturday Night Live and described having an abortion the day before her 23rd birthday. "I wish I didn't have to do this because the abortion I had when I was 23 is my own clown business, but that's all certain people in this nation want to talk about all the time!" "We kept this secret for so long while being so pleased it occurred!" she remarked of abortion seekers in general.
#8 Busy Philipps
Source: Kena Betancur
"It's not daring for me to admit I had an abortion when I was 15, because it's a medical thing—a thing, a choice I took, and I don't regret it at all," Busy Philipps stated in 2019. Philipps has written and spoken about her abortion and urged other women to do the same, using the hashtag #YouKnowMe to assist abortion denialists to understand that the surgery does not happen to dark, anonymous individuals, but to people they love and care about. "I don't feel ashamed," Philipps wrote. "I'm grateful I wasn't pregnant with that guy's child."
#9 Milla Jovovich
Source: Momodu Mansaray
Milla Jovovich posted her abortion story on Instagram in 2019, two years after she had two children and was pregnant with a third. "I was four and a half months pregnant and on-site in Eastern Europe." "I went into preterm labor and was informed that I had to stay awake throughout the surgery," she stated. "It was one of the most terrifying experiences I've ever had." It still gives me nightmares. I was helpless and alone. My gut twists when I consider that new rules may force women to have abortions in even harsher conditions than I did."
#10 Susan Sarandon
Source: Dia Dipasupil
"I had an abortion when I was in my twenties," Sarandon told The Guardian in 2006. "My first [and only] marriage was disintegrating. I had an affair with a crazy man, and I knew having a child with him wasn't a good idea."
#11 Kathy Najimy
Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Kathy Najimy was 19 years old and a college student when she discovered she was pregnant through her ex. "I had a bossy bully doctor who attempted to make me feel horrible and said, 'Well, you got yourself into this.' 'Do you have a plan for what you're going to do?' And I responded, 'Yeah, I'm having an abortion.'" She commented on the other ladies who could have visited the doctor and been "swayed by this individual who truly didn't care about their lives or their health" in a 2018 video.
#12 Sharon Osbourne
Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Sharon Osbourne has spoken up about having an abortion at the age of 17 and being disgraced and chastised by her mother, who did not accompany her to the surgery. "I went by myself. In 2004, she told The Daily Mail, "I was afraid." "There were other young girls there, and we were all horrified and staring at each other, and nobody said a damned word." It was horrific, and I howled my way through it."
#13 Rita Moreno
Source: Michael Kovac
Rita Moreno writes about her experience when Marlon Brando compelled her to undergo an abortion while they were in their twenties in her 2011 biography. Abortions were illegal at the time, so Brando bribed a dubious doctor to perform Moreno's abortion. She had to be admitted to the hospital.
#14 Chelsea Handler
Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez
Chelsea Handler became pregnant at the age of 16, and her parents took her to Planned Parenthood for an abortion. "I paradoxically felt parented while having an abortion." "And when it was all said and done, I was relieved in every sense," she wrote in Playboy in 2016. That following year, she became pregnant again and had another abortion. "Everyone makes mistakes all the time." At the age of 16, I made two mistakes. I'm glad I came to my senses and was able to have an abortion legally without jeopardizing my health or bankrupting myself or my family. I'm 41 now. I never look back and say to myself, "God, I wish I'd had that baby."
#15 Alyssa Milano
Source: Rich Fury
Alyssa Milano revealed in 2019 on her podcast Sorry, Not Sorry that she had two abortions in 1993. "I was in love for the first time, in that breathless manner that you can only be in love when you're young," she explained. But she was aware that she was "not ready" to be a mom. Despite her Catholic background, she opted to have an abortion. "I made the decision. And that was unquestionably the best decision for her," she stated. "It was not an easy decision." It was not something I desired, but it was something I need, as is the majority of health care."
#16 Toni Braxton
Source: NBC
Toni Braxton revealed in her biography, Unbreak My Heart, that she had an abortion while she was in her 30s. She was "bankrupt" and using Accutane (isotretinoin), a medicine that can cause serious birth abnormalities if used while pregnant. "I was abruptly confronted with a decision I'd never expected to have to make," she wrote. "Despite my deep reservations about abortion, I finally made the agonizing decision." For Braxton, a pastor's descendant from two generations, the decision was filled with shame and anguish.
#17 Minka Kelly
Source: Leon Bennett
"I had an abortion when I was younger." "It was the best decision I could have made," Minka Kelly stated in a 2019 Instagram post. "Having a kid born to two individuals who were too young and entirely unprepared, with no resources or aid from relatives, would have resulted in a child born into a needless world of suffering." Having a child at that time would only have perpetuated the cycle of poverty, turmoil, and dysfunction into which I was born." "Let us not forget, prohibiting abortion has never prevented women from attempting it," she said.
#18 Jameela Jamil
Source: Frazer Harrison
Jameela Jamil posted on Instagram in 2019 that abortion "saved my life." "I was mentally/physically/emotionally/financially unstable, and I DID NOT WANT A CHILD." That should be enough. My life is more important than the life of an unborn child." "I have not a single regret," she continued. I was merely relieved and grateful that I lived in a nation where abortion was legal and safe." Jamil observed that abortion bans disproportionately affect poor women and do not prevent abortion.
#19 Sinead O’ Connor
Source: David Corio
Sinead O'Connor has spoken – and sang – about her abortion. "I was left with the option of whether or not to have the kid, knowing that the father wasn't going to be there," she told Spin in 1991, referring to her abortion the previous year. "I felt it was best not to, and that I would have a kid later when his father would be there and participating." I didn't think I could handle it on my own."
#20 Joan Collins
Source: Pablo Cuadra
Joan Collins, 88, explained her right to abortion plainly and vehemently. "I had an abortion," she said on Piers Morgan's Life Stories. "It would have been the end of my career, and I was 26 at the time." Of course, I hesitated, but I understood that if I was going to have a kid, I needed to be able to raise the child properly, and I strongly believed that I was in control of my body."