NewsNational

'My darkest secret': Uma Thurman reflects on having an abortion in protest to new Texas law

Uma Thurman
Posted at 7:13 PM, Sep 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-22 19:13:22-04

Uma Thurman revealed her “darkest secret” in an Op-Ed for the Washington Post.

The actress says she had an abortion as a teenager.

“It hurt terribly, but I didn’t complain. I had internalized so much shame that I felt I deserved the pain,” Thurman says.

The abortion took place in Germany, where Thurman says she was living out of a suitcase while pursuing an acting career.

Heartbroken about the decision to terminate her pregnancy, Thurman says she has “no regrets” for the path she’s traveled.

The 51-year-old is the mother to three children, who she calls her “pride and joy.”

Thurman said she was compelled to share her story after Texas passed a restrictive abortion law.

“This law is yet another discriminatory tool against those who are economically disadvantaged, and often, indeed, against their partners,” Thurman writes.

The Texas law bans abortions after doctors can detect a fetal “heartbeat,” which is about six weeks into pregnancy.

It also allows anyone to sue a person who helps a woman go through with an abortion.

“I am grief-stricken, as well, that the law pits citizen against citizen, creating new vigilantes who will prey on these disadvantaged women, denying them the choice not to have children they are not equipped to care for, or extinguishing their hopes for the future family they might choose,” Thurman writes.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block the Texas law. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 1, according to CBS News.