A recent episode of the Sorry Not Sorry podcast kicked off: “I’m Alyssa Milano, and I’ve had an abortion. I control my own body. Sorry not sorry.” The actress opened up about her experience in the hour-long podcast, revealing that she had two abortions in her early 20s in 1993.
"I knew at that time, I was not equipped to be a mother, and so I chose to have an abortion," she said. "I chose. It was my choice. And it was absolutely the right choice for me." She shared her emotional journey, while referencing information about Roe v. Wade, and noting that one in four women will have an abortion in America by the age of 45. She said she came forward more than 25 years after making her choices in hopes that hearing her story would encourage listeners to reconsider their thoughts on newly passed laws about women’s reproductive rights, which make it harder for women to access abortion.
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She said sharing her story was about “freedom from oppression. Freedom for women to have the audacity to be equally sexual beings as men." She continued, . "Freedom for women to live the life they were meant to have, not just the life that is thrust upon them by a pregnancy that cannot exist in their life."
Milano is one of many celebrities who’ve shared their abortion stories recently, including Busy Philipps, Ashley Judd, and Jameela Jamil. Milano highlighted the fact that she chose to get her abortions on her own terms, and said she was on birth control when she discovered both unplanned pregnancies. "It was not an easy choice," she said. "It was not something I wanted, but it was something that I needed, like most health care is."
She said she had her first abortion soon after wrapping her work on Who’s The Boss. At the time, she wasn’t prepared for motherhood, and wanted to focus on her career. She was also on medication at the time that may have caused birth defects, and suffering with what she described as “sometimes crippling” anxiety. Milano says that because she chose to terminate those pregnancies, she now has the platform and the voice to speak out for other women and their reproductive rights. She also noted that she wouldn’t have her two children, Elizabeth, 4, and Milo, 7, with her husband Dave Bugliari now if she hadn’t had those abortions.
Although Milano just shared this personal story, she’s long been on the front lines fighting for reproductive rights. In May, she called for a sex strike in response to restrictive abortion laws that were passed. She also voiced her opinion that Hollywood should stop filming and producing in Georgia after the state past its so-called “fetal heartbeat” abortion law, as InSytle reported.
Ultimately, Milano said that she didn’t want sympathy after sharing her story. She wanted to wake people, and help them think critically about women’s rights. “I would not have my children — my beautiful, perfect, loving, kind and inquisitive children who have a mother who was so very, very ready for them,” she said. “I would not have my career. I would not have the ability or platform I use to fight against oppression with all my heart… I would never had been free to be myself — and that’s what this fight is all about: freedom.”