Rita Moreno Reflected On Her Botched Abortion In Response To The Supreme Court Overturning Roe V. Wade

Rita Moreno Reflected On Her Botched Abortion In Response To The Supreme Court Overturning Roe V. Wade
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Rita Moreno Reflected On Her Botched Abortion In Response To The Supreme Court Overturning Roe V. Wade

"I didn’t know it then, but I could have died."

CIin6-uyP_large.jpg?crop=498%25253A499%25253B0%25252C17&downsize=60:*&output-format=jpg&output-quality=autoby Natasha Jokic

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Rita Moreno reflected on her botched abortion following the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade.

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Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images for 20th Century Studios

Rita had an abortion before the 1973 Roe decision, when she was dating Marlon Brando in the '50s and early '60s. In her 2011 memoir, she wrote that the abortion was forced by Marlon during their eight-year relationship.

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Archive Photos / Stringer / Getty Images

“Marlon found a doctor through some friends,” Rita recalled to Variety. “He was a real doctor — Marlon paid him $500 — as opposed to something in a back alley.”

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United Archives via Getty Images

However, following the procedure, Rita began to bleed and had to go to the hospital. "I had what they told me was a ‘disturbed pregnancy,’” she continued. “The doctor didn’t do anything really, except make me bleed. In other words, he didn’t do it right. I didn’t know it then, but I could have died. What a mess. What a dreadful mess.”

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Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic / Getty Images

"I can see that thing happening now and going back to back alleys,” she said, adding that she was "jubilant" when Roe V. Wade came first came into effect. "I’m really nervous and frightened and horrified that this is taking place."

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Jesse Grant / Getty Images

Although Rita wasn't entirely surprised by the ruling, she understandably feels "shocked" and "stunned." Still, she is thinking of what comes next. “We loud mouths are going to have to get busy,” Moreno said. “There are many of us. I’m thinking what are we going to do about this? If anything, this has reactivated us.”

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Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

You can learn more about how to still access abortion in the US here and how to donate to abortion funds here.

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