She revealed that she was impregnated by an older man when she was living out of a suitcase in Europe, and though she wanted to keep the baby, she did not have the means to provide it with a meaningful life.
In wake of the recent restrictive abortion law in Texas, Kill Bill actor Uma Thurman wrote an op-ed piece for The Washington Post, detailing just how wrong the rule is. The new rule bans abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy, which is much before most women even know that they are pregnant. The regressive law also grants private citizens the right to sue anyone who helps someone get an abortion—including doctors and drivers who take patients to the clinic— for at least $10,000.
However, patients who seek the treatment are not fined. Unfortunately, victims of rape and incest are not excluded from the law's restrictions. Per CBS News, in the next couple of weeks that the law has been implemented, patients have fled across state lines to be able to access the procedure elsewhere.
Thurman, "in the hope of drawing the flames of controversy away from the vulnerable women on whom this law will have an immediate effect", decided to share a secret from her life.
"I started my acting career at 15, working in an environment where I was often the only kid in the room," shared Thurman. However, when she was a teen, she was impregnated by a much older man, that too, at a time when she was "living out of a suitcase in Europe, far from my family, and about to start a job."
She had no idea what to do, but she knew she wanted to keep the baby. Then she did the only thing she could—she phoned home. "My mother was gravely ill in the hospital. My father went to her bedside to discuss my options. We had never spoken about sex before; this was the first time, and it was terrible for all of us."
When she was asked by her parents about the status of her relationship, she said it wasn't viable. Then, they "warned me how difficult it would be to raise a baby as a teen on my own."
She was just starting out in her career and did not have the means to take care of a baby all alone or provide the newborn, or herself, with a stable home. "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."
Help came to her in the form of an older German doctor. "In her doctor’s office in Cologne, I was given a local anesthetic and had an abortion. I lay awake on the table while the doctor, who was a kind man, explained every step of the process as it happened. It hurt terribly, but I didn’t complain. I had internalized so much shame that I felt I deserved the pain."
This was something she hadn't shared with anyone so far, but Thurman felt the need to do so, just so she could highlight the importance of letting women choose if they want to continue or terminate the pregnancy. "There is so much pain in this story. It has been my darkest secret until now."
The 51-year-old woman who is now mother to three kids said, "The abortion I had as a teenager was the hardest decision of my life, one that caused me to 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."
"I have nothing to gain from this disclosure, and perhaps much to lose. In revealing the hole that this decision carved in me, I hope 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. I can assure you that no one finds herself on that table on purpose."
She then shared that this law only affects people who really need help. "This law is yet another discriminatory tool against those who are economically disadvantaged, and often, indeed, against their partners. Women and children of wealthy families retain all the choices in the world, and face little risk."
Finally, she concluded her lengthy and strong post by sharing: "To all women outraged by having our bodies’ rights taken by the state; and to all of you who are made vulnerable and subjected to shame because you have a uterus — I say: I see you. Have courage. You are beautiful. You remind me of my daughters."
References:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/21/uma-thurman-abortion-law-texas/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uma-thurman-abortion-teenager-op-ed-texas-law/
