Busy Philipps opened up about an abortion she had as a teenager on her late-night talk show Tuesday in response to a controversial new abortion law signed in Georgia this week.
“I know that people feel very strongly about abortion, but let me just say this: Women and their doctors are in the best position to make informed decisions about what is best for them. Nobody else. Nobody,” said Philipps at the start of her E! network show “Busy Tonight.”
The “Dawson’s Creek” alum began the segment by noting that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the “heartbeat bill” on Tuesday morning, which will severely limit access to abortion for millions of women across the state and bans abortion as soon as doctors can detect a fetal heartbeat. Heartbeats can usually be detected around six weeks into a pregnancy, an early stage when many women are not aware they are even pregnant.
Philipps called abortion an “incredibly personal choice” and added that this sort of legislation puts “more women at risk.”
“The statistic is 1 in 4 women will have an abortion before age 45. That statistic sometimes surprises people, and maybe you’re sitting there thinking, ‘I don’t know a woman who would have an abortion.’ Well, you know me,” she said, explaining that she had an abortion at 15 years old.
“I’m telling you this because I’m genuinely really scared for women and girls all over this country,” she continued. “I think we all need to be talking more and sharing our stories more.”
Cecile Richards, who led Planned Parenthood for over a decade, tweeted Wednesday to thank Philipps for speaking up:
Previously, Philipps has talked about the abortion she had as a teenager in her 2018 book “This Will Only Hurt a Little.”
In that telling, Philipps describes how her boyfriend at the time belonged to a conservative family and didn’t want her to have an abortion. Philipps’ mother ultimately helped her go through with the procedure.
After talking about the Georgia bill and sharing her personal story, Philipps shifted gears to talk about the Met Gala, the annual fashion event that was held Monday.
“Is that a hard left turn? Yeah, it is. Is it kind of jarring? Yes, it is also kind of jarring. But guess what? That’s what being a fucking woman is,” she said.
“Having a regular Tuesday and then suddenly being reminded that people are trying to police your body and then you just have to go back to work.”
Philipps announced this week that her talk show was being canceled. The last episode is set to air next week.
This story has been updated with a tweet from Cecile Richards.