Sally Field shares harrowing story about abortion in Mexico as a teenager: ‘We can’t go back’

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Oscar-winning actor Sally Field has opened up about a “life-altering” abortion she had as a teenager, aiming to highlight the issue of reproductive rights.

Field recalled the ordeal in a video posted to her Instagram, saying that she got an abortion when she was 17 in Tijuana, Mexico, on the advice of a doctor, who was also a family friend.

The doctor, she said, drove her to the clinic, accompanied by Field’s mother and the doctor’s wife.

Recalling the harrowing details of her experience, Field said that she was molested during the procedure, which she said was performed without anesthesia aside from “a few puffs of ether.”

“I still feel very ashamed of it because I was raised in the ‘50s and it’s ingrained in me,” she said. “It was beyond hideous and life-altering.”

She first shared the story about her abortion in her 2018 memoir titled “In Pieces.”

In her video account of the experience, Field praised the doctor who helped her seek treatment for his “generosity” and “bravery.” Abortion was illegal in the United States at that time.

Field added in her video that she was sharing the story to shed light on “the things that women are going through now,” referencing the increasing restrictions on reproductive rights, which has been a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has sought to put abortion rights at the center of its platform as it pitches to voters in critical states, pointing to the state-level restrictions made possible, in part, by former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s Supreme Court picks.

Field endorsed Harris in August. She has previously voiced support for Democratic candidates and long advocated for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and combating climate change.

“We can’t go back,” Field said in the video.

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