These 18 Celebrities Have Openly Discussed Having An Abortion, And Here Are Their Stories

"My body, my choice, my life."

Yesterday, a law banning abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy went into effect in Texas after the Supreme Court took no action to stop it.

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Both #HandmaidsTale — based on the popular novel about a totalitarian society that treats women's bodies as reproductive vessels and property — and #Texas were trending online, leading many to express their opinions about the state of our nation and its treatment toward women.

Some of the voices leading the pro–abortion rights rally are celebrities who are willing to share their own stories and experiences. Here are those who have spoken up against previous anti-abortion laws and the continuing pressure to dismiss Roe v. Wade:

1. Stevie Nicks

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Shortly after the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, singer Stevie Nicks opened up to the Guardian about how abortion rights should have been her "generation's fight." 

She also spoke about choosing to have an abortion in 1979, when Fleetwood Mac was at its peak, saying: "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 constantly. And there were a lot of drugs, I was doing a lot of drugs. … I would have had to walk away...and 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’s not another band in the world that has two lead women singers, two lead women writers. That was my world’s mission.”

2. Keke Palmer

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In 2019, Alabama banned all abortions except in the case where a mother's health is at risk, inspiring Keke Palmer and thousands of other women to share their personal stories under the #YouKnowMe hashtag. 

"I am disheartened about hearing the news in Alabama. I feel as if women rights laws are going backwards. Individual choice is being taken. I’m truly so confused at the world rn and the policies that follow. #YouKnowMe," she wrote. 

3. Busy Philipps

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On an episode of her show Busy Tonight, the actress reflected on Georgia's heartbeat bill, sharing, "I had an abortion when I was 15 years old and I'm telling you this because I'm genuinely really scared for women and girls all over the country."

4. Laura Prepon

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When getting a sonogram, the Orange Is the New Black actress was told the fetus had a cystic hygroma, which are fluid-filled sacs that block the lymphatic system. 

“Our neonatal specialist told us the brain was not growing and the bones were not growing,” Prepon told People. “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.”

5. Nicki Minaj

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In an interview with Rolling Stone, Nicki Minaj revealed that she thought she "was going to die" when she found out she was pregnant as a teen. Having an abortion "was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through," she said. "[It's] haunted me all my life. 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."

6. Alyssa Milano

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On her podcast, Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry, the actress shared that she had two abortions over 25 years ago. "I knew at that time, I was not equipped to be a mother, and so I chose to have an abortion," she said. "It was not an easy choice. It was not something I wanted, but it was something that I needed, like most healthcare is."

7. Whoopi Goldberg

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In an essay for Angela Bonavoglia's The Choices We Made, Whoopi Goldberg wrote: "I found out I was pregnant when I was 14. ... 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 Johnny 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."

8. Chelsea Handler

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In an essay for Playboy, Chelsea Handler shared that she had two abortions while in a relationship at 16 years old. "Like millions of women, I can live my life without an unplanned child born out of an unhealthy relationship because of Roe v. Wade," she said. "It’s infuriating to hear politicians make bogus promises about overturning this ruling that has protected us for more than 40 years."

9. Gloria Steinem

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Activist Gloria Steinem was pregnant at 22, before abortion was legal, and shared that she tried multiple dangerous methods to terminate her pregnancy. 

"I had been doing all of the foolish things that we then did [to terminate a pregnancy], like riding horseback, throwing ourselves down stairs," she said in an interview with NPR. "I am the most cowardly person you can imagine, physically speaking, but...I was desperate. I really was desperate. I just knew that if I went home and married, which I would've had to do, it would be to the wrong person; it would be to a life that wasn't mine, that wasn't mine at all."

10. Margaret Cho

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As a comedian, Margaret Cho has openly discussed having an abortion in her standup routines. "I have had them and I want to talk about them," she once said. "I don't care what your views are toward abortion, I just think women should be talking about it." 

11. Naya Rivera

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In an essay for USA Today, the late Glee star discussed why she chose to share her abortion story in her memoir Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up. 

"I knew that in sharing my story, I would be judged for the decision I made. But I wanted to let other women facing the same difficult decision know that they weren't alone," she wrote.

12. Tess Holliday

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After Alabama's implemented a strict ruling when it came to abortions, model Tess Holiday shared this on Instagram: 

"‪I’m from Mississippi, living in California, married with 2 kids, & I had an abortion. ‬If I was still down south, I might not have been able to get the abortion I wanted & needed. My mental health couldn’t handle being pregnant again & I made the best decision for ME & ultimately my family. It wasn’t the “easy thing to do”, it was excruciating on many levels, but necessary. Do I regret it or question my choice? Not at all."

13. Lil' Kim

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In an interview with the Washington Post, Lil Kim shared that her song "Hold On" is about her own personal experience with having an abortion. 

"Most of the things that I talk about [in my music], yeah, they're true. ... I talk about the pain of being pregnant and having an abortion," she said. "I talk about the things that women have gone through that they don't think I've gone through." 

14. April Love Geary

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In an Instagram post where the model bares her stomach, April wrote: "This is MY body, MY body after having an abortion in 2014, a miscarriage in 2017, delivering a baby in 2018 and 2019. I’m glad I was able to make decisions about MY body without facing any type of punishment. It’s scary to think that women won’t be able to choose to abort if that’s what they want/what’s necessary."

15. Minka Kelly

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When Alabama passed the nation's strictest abortion law, Minka Kelly shared a photo of the 25 Alabama state senators who voted for the bill, along with this message: "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. For a baby to’ve been born to two people — too young and completely ill equipped — with no means or help from family, would have resulted in a child born into an unnecessary world of struggle. Having a baby at that time would have only perpetuated the cycle of poverty, chaos and dysfunction I was born into."

16. Sherri Shepherd

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While debating with her cohosts on The View, Sherri Sheperd said, "I'm speaking as a girl who has had a lot of abortions, and if they had showed me a fetus, I probably wouldn't have, but I would have put my child in a lot of situations that wouldn't have been good because I didn't have the mental capacity to deal with having a child."

17. Rose McGowan

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When a Twitter account shared the statistic that one in four women will have an abortion before age 45, Rose McGowan shared: "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. I realized I could not bring a child into my world and simultaneously change the world. I do not regret my decision and it was not made lightly. If you do not want an abortion, don’t get one. My body, my choice, my life."

18. Hannah Gadsby

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In an interview with Variety, Hannah reflected on the shifting abortion laws in Alabama, and shared that she had an abortion after being raped. 

"Had I been in that state, under these laws, under these politics at that time in my life, I would be dead. It's as simple as that," Hannah said. "I was assaulted, raped, and very, very vulnerable. How was I going to raise a child? I would have ended up dead. How is that pro-life? You can't say women can't have abortions and then provide absolutely no infrastructure to help them."