Hollywood actress Uma Thurman revealed the harrowing tale of an abortion she underwent as a teenager to express solidarity with those who were against abortion laws in Texas, United States.
Thurman penned down her thoughts in an op-ed for the Washington Post, in which she said she was confronted with the choice to abort an accidental pregnancy when she was a mere teenager who lived out of a suitcase in Europe. Although she wanted to keep the baby, Thurman said her unstable financial situation did not allow her to see the pregnancy through full term. She added that the decision pained her immeasurably and was her ‘darkest secret until now’, but it was one that allowed her to reach her potential as a mother when she was ready to become one on her own terms.
The award-winning actress said that the restrictive abortion laws in Texas discriminated against women and shamed them for not wanting a child or being ready for one if pregnant. She added that no one willfully put themselves in a place where they would have to abort their child.
Thurman also put forth a premonition that inaccessibility to safe abortions would put women at a risk as the laws incentivized citizens with monetary gains if they reported health care providers who gave abortion services in the state.
Anti-abortion laws in Texas are deemed to be amongst the most prohibitive in the US. According to a ruling passed in May this year, women could not undergo abortion if they were past six weeks in their pregnancy, which is roughly the time that the fetal heartbeat would be detected.
The law that came into effect on September 1, made no exceptions for rape or incest victims and was widely protested for its pro-life approach that oppressed women. The legislation also promised up to $10,000 to people who reported health care providers that helped women abort their pregnancies.
