‘Girls’ star, Jemima Kirke, Talks About Her Abortion

Jemima Kirke has spoken out about having an abortion. Speaking for a PSA for the Center for Reproductive Rights, the* Girls* star confirmed that she chose to get an abortion in 2007.

The actress, who became pregnant whilst in college, felt in 2007, that she wasn’t ready to raise a child. “My life just was not conducive to raising a healthy, happy child. I just didn’t feel it was fair. So I decided to get an abortion” she said.

Emptying her checking account to pay for the procedure, Kirke was unable to pay the additional fees for anaesthesia. “I realised that if I didn’t take the anaesthesia I would be able to afford to do this” she confessed. “We do have free choice and we are able to do what we want, but then there are these hoops we have to jump through to get [abortions]” she said, adding that the option to terminate a pregnancy is still not entirely accessible.

Kirke, who felt she couldn’t tell her mother about her choice, but now speaks only about her decision, hopes to encourage open conversation about pregnancy and abortion . “I still see shame and embarrassment around terminating pregnancies, getting pregnant” she said.

Now, with an 8-year-old step daughter and 4-year-old youngest daughter, Kirke wants her children to have a different experience with reproductive rights. “I’m already anticipating their issues with self-esteem, their issues with their body, the luggage that comes with being a woman. I would love if, when they’re older … the political issues surrounding their bodies are not there anymore, that they have one less thing to battle around their bodies” she concluded.

Kirke's video was part of a Center for Reproductive Rights campaign called Draw The Line, which hopes to encourage other women to share their stories and sign a petition.

Watch Kirke’s full story in the CRR’s Draw the Line campaign video above...