The United States just went back in time half a century into the reality before Roe v. Wade as the Supreme Court overruled it on Jun 24, 2022. Now there is no national law protecting women’s reproductive rights, leaving that decision to state governments. More than half of them already have plans to ban Abortion completely or have strict requirements under which it can be carried out.

The decision caused much agitation in the United States and women are speaking up about what consequences it can have as well as their own experiences demonstrating that abortion should be considered a fundamental right.

Through the years, many celebrities have also opened up about having abortions and what it was like for them. It was never an easy decision to make and these women had consequences to deal with, such as experiencing judgment from other people and coping with their own thoughts. But they did it, no matter if it was legal or not, because it was their lives and their decisions to make.

#1 Ashley Judd

I'm very thankful I was able to access safe and legal abortion. Because the sexual abuser, who is a Kentuckian, as am I, and I reside in Tennessee, has paternity rights in Kentucky and Tennessee. I would've had to co-parent with my sexual abuser.

Image credits: Genevieve

#2 Billie Jean King

Anyone seeking an abortion [in the early '70s] had to obtain approval from a hospital committee — that is, tell a panel of strangers why they believed their pregnancy would 'gravely impair' their physical and mental health. Arguing to a dozen or so people I had never met why I qualified for an abortion remains one of the most degrading experiences of my life

Image credits: KingEnterprises

#3 Whoopi Goldberg

I found out I was pregnant when I was 14 years old — 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 [Johnnie] 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.

Image credits: whoopigoldberg

#4 Busy Philipps

It's not brave for me to say I had an abortion at 15, because it's a medical thing — a thing, a choice that I made, and I don't regret it at all. This shame [was] perpetrated on me, but I don't have a shame. I'm glad I didn't have that guy's baby. I'm OK. ... We hold on to these things as to not make men uncomfortable, but I'm ready for them to start holding it.

Image credits: busyphilipps

#5 Laura Prepon

Our neonatal specialist told us the brain was not growing and the bones were not growing. 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.

Image credits: lauraprepon

#6 Phoebe Bridgers

I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour. I went to Planned Parenthood, where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access.

Image credits: phoebebridgers

#7 Rose Mcgowan

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.

Image credits: gdcgraphics

#8 Milla Jovovich

I went into pre term labor and told that I had to be awake for the whole procedure. It was one of the most horrific experiences I have ever gone through. I still have nightmares about it. I was alone and helpless. When I think about the fact that women might have to face abortions in even worse conditions than I did because of new laws, my stomach turns.

Image credits: millajovovich

#9 Gloria Steinem

I was in London because I had a fellowship in India, and I was awaiting my visa. So I was living in London [and] working as a waitress in order to support myself. I had all the usual fantasies [to terminate my pregnancy] — maybe if I go horseback riding, maybe if I throw myself down the stairs. Our minds race through all possible alternatives, and it was sheer luck of going to a doctor whose name I found in the telephone book. It was due to his kindness [and] due to his looking at me and saying, 'If you promise never to tell anyone my name, I will help you.' So he sent me to a woman doctor who actually did the procedure

Image credits: Gage Skidmore

#10 Stevie Nicks

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 — and there were a lot of drugs. I was doing a lot of drugs … I would have had to walk away. 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 isn't another band in the world that has two lead women singers [and] two lead women writers. That was my world's mission.

Image credits: Ralph Arvesen

#11 Nicki Minaj

I thought I was going to pass away — I was a teenager. It was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through. 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.

Image credits: nickiminaj

#12 Alyssa Milano

I knew at that time, I was not equipped to be a mother, and so I chose to have an abortion. I chose. It was my choice. And it was absolutely the right choice for me.

Image credits: milano_alyssa

#13 Jameela Jamil

I had an abortion when I was young, and it was the best decision I have ever made. Both for me and for the baby I didn't want, and wasn't ready for, emotionally, psychologically, and financially. So many children will end up in foster homes, [and] so many lives [will be] ruined.

Image credits: jameelajamil

#14 Minka Kelly

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. Having a baby at that time would have only perpetuated the cycle of poverty, chaos and dysfunction I was born into.

Image credits: minkakelly

#15 Uma Thurman

[My abortion] has been my darkest secret until now. I am 51 years old, and I am sharing it with you from the home where I have raised my three children, who are my pride and joy. ... 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. ... It hurt terribly, but I didn't complain. I had internalized so much shame that I felt I deserved the pain.

Image credits: umathurman

#16 Amber Tamblyn

In 2012, I had an abortion. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I still think about it to this day. But these truths do not make me regret my decision. It was the right choice for me, at that time in my life. I have not a single doubt about this

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons

#17 Chelsea Handler

Of course, the idea that I would have a child and raise it by myself at that age, when I couldn't even find my way home at night, was ridiculous. My parents recognized that, so they acted like parents for one of the very first times in my life and took me to Planned Parenthood.

Image credits: David Shankbone

#18 Rita Moreno

Marlon took me to the hospital. I had what they told me was a 'disturbed pregnancy'. The doctor didn't do anything really, except make me bleed. In other words, he didn't do it right. I didn't know it then, but I could have pass away. What a mess. What a dreadful mess.

Image credits: theritamoreno

#19 Keke Palmer

I was worried about my career responsibilities and afraid that I could not exist as both a career woman and mother. Twitter is sometimes too flat and too short to express intimate sentiments — words without context [can be] very annoying. I am disheartened hearing about the [Alabama abortion ban]. I feel as if women's rights are going backwards, and individual choice is being taken. I'm truly so confused at the world and the policies that follow

Image credits: keke

#20 Cheryl Burke

I was two weeks pregnant when I got an abortion. I remember rolling up to Planned Parenthood with picketers holding anti-abortion signs and that alone was traumatic. But, on top of it all, the whole process is traumatic and the fact that now, you're making it illegal for us women to make this decision about our own bodies is absolutely insanity.

Image credits: cherylburke

#21 Jemima Kirke

My life was not conducive to raising a healthy [and] happy child — I just didn't feel it was fair. So I decided to get an abortion. Because I couldn't tell my mother that I was pregnant, I had to pay for it out of pocket. I did have to empty my checking account and get [some money] from my boyfriend. I've always felt that reproductive issues should be something that women especially should be able to talk about freely. I still see shame and embarrassment around terminating pregnancies

Image credits: jemima_jo_kirke

#22 Tess Holliday

My mental health couldn't handle being pregnant again & I made the best decision for ME & ultimately my family.

Image credits: tessholliday

#23 Vanessa Williams

Being pregnant is the most frightening thing that happens in your life. I knew in high school that's something that I was not prepared to do, or fight, or struggle with.

Image credits: Juju Chang and Lauren Effron

#24 Naya Rivera

From the minute I made that first phone call to my mom, it was never a question of whether I was going to have the baby — I just knew I couldn't. And without even saying it, my mom knew it too. It made it easier because I felt like I never had to question if I was making the right decision, but, still, nothing about the next few weeks was even remotely easy.

Image credits: Gage Skidmore

#25 Linsey Godfrey

I had an abortion. I just simply wasn't in a place, financially or emotionally to take that on. I was and still am glad I had that choice because that's exactly what it was, it was my choice, my body.

Image credits: ohmygodfrey

#26 Meadow Walker

It is a very private and personal experience - the way it should be. I was lucky enough to have a great doctor who supported me through the debilitating process - with their help, I am able to be the happy and healthy person I am today.

Image credits: meadowwalker

#27 Lil' Kim

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

Image credits: lilkimthequeenbee

#28 Toni Braxton

I felt selfish because I was thinking: 'I'm going through bankruptcy — there are things going on with my life, and I can't give this kid any future.' I was feeling hopeless for no reason, [and] when I look [back] at it now for no reason, what was I thinking? I am not really embarrassed about it — I am more ashamed of myself for doing that because I could've figured something out financially. That was just an excuse I was making for myself.

Image credits: tonibraxton

#29 Rozonda Thomas (Chilli From Tlc)

I was 20 and my career hadn't really started, [and I got pregnant]. How do I do all that? How do I be a mommy? [The abortion] messed me up — it broke my spirit. I felt like I became not my strong self anymore. I felt like I gave in and broke [down] to what someone else wanted. I cried almost every day for nine years. And then I was caught up — I had to have a baby. I had to fix it, and the only way I could fix it was with [TLC producer Dallas Austin]. I could only have this baby with him because the baby I didn't have was with him

Image credits: therealchilli