Ireland Baldwin shared her personal experience with abortion after news broke Friday that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade.
The 26-year-old actress and social media influencer took to TikTok to share her experience with the decision to terminate her pregnancy during an unhappy relationship.
“I did have a boyfriend, and I did get pregnant,” she shared in the candid post. “At that point in time, I would say we were unhappy together and he made it clear he never wanted children or marriage. He almost didn’t want a serious relationship.
“I chose to have an abortion because I knew exactly what it was like to be born between two people who hated each other,” Baldwin’s parents, actors Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, known for their acrimonious divorce, continued. “Could I have had that child and put that child up for adoption? Maybe, maybe not. Choosing to raise a baby without my own financial security, without a loving and supportive partner, just didn’t work for me. I chose me, and I will choose me again. It’s your life, it’s your choice.”
Baldwin clarified that she “doesn’t feel it’s anyone’s responsibility to talk about this if they feel uncomfortable.
“In the last 24 hours, I’ve seen countless TikToks where women have told other women that it’s their responsibility to share their abortion stories, and I’ve found that to be intrusive, wrong, and simply not true,” she explained. “I’m only sharing my story now because I want other women to feel supported and loved whether they want to share their [experiences] or not.”
The social media influencer also shared that she was raped when she was “completely unconscious” as a teenager.
Although she did not become pregnant as a result of the attack, Baldwin said the incident “changed the trajectory of the rest of my life. For years, she didn’t tell anyone it had happened, except for a nurse who treated her.
“I didn’t even tell my own boyfriend at the time,” Baldwin shared. “Not my parents, no one.”
She went on to share that she suffered so much pain and so much guilt for so long after the attack, and “lost control of my life.”
“I drank a lot, I partied a lot, I took my own medication. I was in other abusive and toxic relationships and friendships. I did almost everything I could to distract myself,” she admits.
Seeing so many “brave” women discussing their stories on social media and in the press, Baldwin began to wonder what it would be like if she became pregnant as a result of rape.
“It was excruciating and impossible.” Baldwin said she prefaced her statement by acknowledging that she has “medical resources, money and support that many women don’t have access to.
