Uma Thurman Reveals She Had An 'Abortion' In Her Teens, Criticizes Texas Law

Uma Thurmanhas spoken out against Texas' new law banning abortion as she shares her personal experience on the topic.

In an emotional op-ed published by The Washington Post on September 21, the 51-year-old actress revealed her "darkest secret," which was about an abortion she had in her late teens.

"I have followed the course of Texas’s radical antiabortion law with great sadness, and something akin to horror," she wrote. "Now, in the hope of drawing the flames of controversy away from the vulnerable women on whom this law will have an immediate effect, I am sharing my own experience. You might not be interested in the opinions of an actress, but given this new outrage, I feel it is my responsibility to stand up in their shoes."

Thurman then revealed the details of her teenage pregnancy while just starting her career.

"I started my acting career at 15, working in an environment where I was often the only kid in the room. In my late teens, I was accidentally impregnated by a much older man. I was living out of a suitcase in Europe, far from my family, and about to start a job. I struggled to figure out what to do. I wanted to keep the baby, but how?"

She then continued by sharing how her parents helped her with the decision, also noting that they never discussed anything about "sex" prior to the call and how "terrible" it was for them.

"They asked me about the status of my relationship — it was not viable — and warned me how difficult it would be to raise a baby as a teen on my own," Thurman recalled. "My childish fantasy of motherhood was soundly corrected as I weighed answers to their very precise questions. I was just starting out in my career and didn’t have the means to provide a stable home, even for myself. We decided as a family that I couldn’t go through with the pregnancy, and agreed that termination was the right choice. My heart was broken nonetheless."

Thurman revealed that she went to a doctor in Cologne, Germany to have the procedure. "It hurt terribly, but I didn't complain," the actress stated. "I had internalized so much shame that I felt I deserved the pain."

In her essay, the Pulp Fiction star, who has three daughters (Maya, 23, and Luna, 9, and son Levon Roan, 19), hoped that "some light will shine through, reaching women and girls who might feel a shame that they can't protect themselves from and have no agency over."

Thurman also added: "The abortion I had as a teenager was the hardest decision of my life, one that caused me anguish then and that saddens me even now, but it was the path to the life full of joy and love that I have experienced. Choosing not to keep that early pregnancy allowed me to grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be."

After sharing her story, Thurman condemned Texas for its decision to ban abortion.

"The Texas abortion law was allowed to take effect without argument by the Supreme Court, which, due in no small part to its lack of ideological diversity, is a staging ground for a human rights crisis for American women. This law is yet another discriminatory tool against those who are economically disadvantaged, and often, indeed, against their partners."

According to People, Senate Bill 8, which fully took effect this month, is now the most restrictive abortion law in the country, essentially eliminating the rights established in Roe v. Wade. Basically, it does not permit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most women know they're pregnant. The bill has no exceptions, including pregnancies that are the result of incest or rape.