"I would’ve had to co-parent with my rapist.” Ashley Judd has spoken about her abortion.

Speaking at the 10th Women in the World Summit in New York City, actress and activist, Ashley Judd has spoken about getting an abortion after a past sexual assault resulted in conception.

This was the first time the 50-year-old, #metoo and #timesup advocate has publicly spoken about her own abortion, despite being a fervent campaigner for women’s legal and safe access to the procedure.

“As everyone knows, and I’m very open about it, I’m a three-time rape survivor,” she said.

“One of the times that I was raped there was conception.

“And I’m very thankful I was able to access safe and legal abortion. Because the rapist, who is a Kentuckian, as am I, and I reside in Tennessee, has paternity rights in Kentucky and Tennessee. I would’ve had to co-parent with my rapist.

Women share their experiences of abortions before they were legal:

Video by The Scene

Judd shared her personal abortion experience in light of the recent “heartbeat bill” which currently being debated by politicians in Georgia, US.

The current state laws allow abortions up to the 20th week of pregnancy but the new bill calls to ban women from the procedure once a heartbeat is detected, which is roughly at the sixth week.

Judd also joins Alyssa Milano and over 100 other celebrities who have signed a petition which states they will withhold filming in Georgia if the bill is passed. According to The Atlanta Business Chronicle, Georgia’s film industry had a $9.5 billion economic impact in 2017, with The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, The Hunger Games and The Vampire Diaries just some of the films and TV shows that were filmed in Georgia.


Speaking about the bill, the Twin Peaks actress reiterated that all women should have “safe access to abortion”.

“We’re not supposed to regulate what we choose to do with our insides,” she continued.

“Democracy starts at my skin.

“The reach of the state stops at my body. And that includes the folks who are in elected power.”

In Australia, abortion law and what constitutes as a ‘lawful abortion’ is legislated under criminal law and differs depending on state and territory.

Most recently, Queensland passed the Termination of Pregnancy Bill in October 2018, which decriminalised abortion and made it legal up to 22 weeks and post 22 weeks with doctors’ approval.

Despite this, abortion is still considered a crime in New South Wales unless a doctor believes the woman’s physical and mental health is in serious danger, however social, economic and medical factors can also be taken into account.
