6 Celebrities Who Had Abortions & Later Had Children By Choice

Abortion is a controversial topic in post-Roe America, and pro-choice celebrities haven't been afraid to speak out about their experiences. Many have shared how ending a pregnancy allowed them to become parents when the time was right, or even saved their lives to be around for their future children.

Halsey has been one of the most vocal stars, sharing how an abortion allowed her to welcome her son, Ender. "My abortion saved my life and gave way for my son to have his," she wrote in an open letter to Vogue in 2022. "Every person deserves the right to choose when, if, and how they have this dangerous and life-altering experience. I will hold my son in one arm, and fight with all my might with the other." Halsey had multiple miscarriages before giving birth, and explained one of them required an abortion for her safety. "My body could not terminate the pregnancy completely on its own and I would risk going into sepsis without medical intervention," she said. Halsey recalled how difficult the experience was, but noted, "I was desperate to end the pregnancy that was threatening my life." The abortion allowed Halsey to live and give birth to Ender in 2021, six years after they told Rolling Stone about how badly they wanted children. "I want to be a mom more than I want to be a pop star. More than I want to be anything in the world," Halsey said.

In October 2020, Chrissy Teigen got candid about her miscarriage with her and John Legend's son, Jack. "After a couple nights at the hospital, my doctor told me exactly what I knew was coming — it was time to say goodbye. [Jack] just wouldn't survive this, and if it went on any longer, I might not either," she wrote in an emotional Medium post. The star later understood she underwent a life-saving abortion. Speaking at an Arizona pro-abortion rally in 2024, Teigen explained she didn't originally think she'd had an abortion. She believed it was a miscarriage because she didn't feel any pain. "There's such a stigma around the word abortion. Nobody wants to say abortion," she said (via CNN). "I didn't even know I had one. And that was so embarrassing to admit in front of the entire world."

Legend shared how necessary terminating the pregnancy was on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast in October 2024 as he shared his disappointment over U.S. abortion laws. "People that have an abortion after 15 weeks almost always want to keep the baby, but there's some kind of complication that came up that they have to have an abortion," he said. The abortion allowed Teigen and Legend to safely welcome two more children. Teigen gave birth to their daughter Esti in January 2023 and, five months later, they became parents again to son Wren via surrogate.

Paris Hilton reminded us no one else had ownership over her story when she spoke in 2023 about her abortion following a surprise pregnancy at age 22. "I was terrified and heartsick. The hormones sent my ADHD symptoms spiraling. Everything I knew about myself was at war with everything I'd been raised to believe about abortion," she wrote in "Paris: The Memoir" Hilton wasn't ready to be a mom or settle down with her partner at the time, so knew a termination was the right decision. "Trying to continue that pregnancy with the physical and emotional issues I was dealing with at the time would have been a train wreck for everyone involved," she wrote. "...I was in no way capable of being a mother. Denying that would have jeopardized the forever family I hoped to have in the future, at a time when I was healthy and healed."

Even though she questioned it at times, Hilton knew she made the right decision and became a mom two decades later. Hilton and her husband, Carter Reum, welcomed their son, Phoenix, via a surrogate and daughter, London, a few months later in 2023. Hilton had previously confirmed that she and Reum had started IVF treatment amid COVID-19. "We knew we wanted to start a family, and I was like, 'This is perfect timing ... let's just get all of the eggs stocked and ready,' and we have tons of them just waiting," she told People.

Sally Field shared her abortion story in an Instagram video in October 2024 advocating for reproductive rights. The actor terminated a pregnancy at age 17. "I had no choices in my life, I didn't have a lot of family support or finances. I graduated high school but no one ever said, 'How about college?' Nothing. I didn't know what I was going to be," she said. The star recalled turning to a family friend who took her to Mexico for the procedure, as abortion was illegal in the U.S. But things became seriously harrowing after she crossed the border. "I realized that the technician was actually molesting me, so I had to figure out, how can I make my arms move to push him away?" she recalled. "So it was just this absolute pit of shame." Fortunately, Field survived the traumatic ordeal and believes her abortion allowed her to have a successful life and career. "A few months after that, I began auditions ... and by the end of that year, I was Gidget." Field would play the main role on "Gidget" for a year, which led to a plethora of big roles in the likes of "The Flying Nun" and "Steel Magnolias." Field welcomed sons, Peter, Eli, and Sam in the decades that followed.

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Kerry Washington told her abortion story in her 2023 book, "Thicker Than Water: A Memoir." She wrote about the procedure and how she felt in detail, recalling, "My body felt hot with shame." Washington recited the many questions she asked herself, including, "Why hadn't I protected myself?" But she knew it was imperative to tell the world and let others know they aren't alone. "So much of our reproductive journey is cloaked in secrecy and shadows ... Until I had a devastating miscarriage and shared about it with friends, I had no idea how many women have weathered that same loss and long to talk about it, but don't," she shared. "I have the same experience every time I share about my abortion. These experiences are part of my history and who I am now." Washington told People of her decision to be so open, "This story had so much to do with my understanding of myself and the world as my career unfolded."

Washington's abortion meant she was able to start a family years later in a loving relationship. She and her husband Nnamdi Asomugha have two children together, Isabelle and Caleb, and the former "Scandal" star is also stepmom to Asomugha's daughter from a previous relationship, whose name the couple keeps private.

In an opinion piece for The Washington Post in 2021, Uma Thurman recalled the abortion she had as a teenager following an accidental pregnancy in Europe, where she was working. "I struggled to figure out what to do," she wrote. Thurman wanted to keep the baby, but knew she couldn't look after herself and a child. She told her family about the pregnancy and they decided together she should get an abortion, which a heartbroken Thurman knew was the right decision as it allowed her to later start her family under more comfortable circumstances. "I conceived my beautiful, magical children with men whom I loved and trusted enough to dare to bring a child into this world," she wrote, but described her abortion as the hardest choice she ever made. "Choosing not to keep that early pregnancy allowed me to grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be."

Thurman's daughter Maya Hawke publicly supported her mom's decision on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2022. "My mom wrote this really beautiful essay about her abortion that she got when she was really young and about how if she hadn't have had it, she wouldn't have become the person that she'd become," she said. "I wouldn't exist and how both of my parents' lives would've been totally derailed if she hadn't had access to safe and legal healthcare, fundamental healthcare."