This post has been updated with new information.
Lena Dunham is nothing if not unfiltered, but her latest comments are drawing ire from people [1] on both sides of the women's reproductive rights debate. On the most recent episode of her podcast, Women of the Hour, the Girls star told a story about visiting a Planned Parenthood in Texas [2] and being asked by one woman if she wanted to be a part of a project "in which women share their stories of abortions."
Abortions are often a painful choice, one that certainly does not come lightly or without its share of mental, psychological, and physical complications.
She admitted that she had never had an abortion and "realized then that even I was carrying within myself stigma around this issue." She explained on the show that many of her loved ones have "had to have abortions for all kinds of reasons," and that she feels "so proud of them for their bravery [and] for their self-knowledge." She continued, "It was a really important moment for me then to realize I had internalized some of what society was throwing at us and I had to put it in the garbage," adding, "Now I can say that I still haven't had an abortion, but I wish I had."
Many people on social media took issue with Lena's comments, especially considering that most women who have abortions don't "wish" for them [3] — they are often a painful choice, one that certainly does not come lightly or without its share of mental, psychological, and physical complications (not to mention the harsh and humiliating political constraints [4]). With the numerous efforts on behalf of Republican politicians to restrict abortion rights [5], overturn Roe v. Wade, and essentially punish women [6] for undergoing the procedure, Lena's assertion that she wishes she's had an abortion — presumably so she could be able to identify more closely with women who have had them — is even more disappointing and problematic.
Following the backlash, Lena issued an apology for her controversial comments on Instagram on Tuesday:
My latest podcast episode was meant to tell a multifaceted story about reproductive choice in America, to explain the many reasons women do or don't choose to have children and what bodily autonomy really means. I'm so proud of the medley of voices in the episode. I truly hope a distasteful joke on my part won't diminish the amazing work of all the women who participated. My words were spoken from a sort of "delusional girl" persona I often inhabit, a girl who careens between wisdom and ignorance (that's what my TV show is too) and it didn't translate. That's my fault. I would never, ever intentionally trivialize the emotional and physical challenges of terminating a pregnancy. My only goal is to increase awareness and decrease stigma. I take reproductive choice in America more seriously than I take literally anything else, and therefore own full responsibility for any words I speak that don't convey this truth clearly. I know plenty of people will never like a thing that leaves my lips, mea culpas or no, but this apology is for the women who have placed their trust in me. You mean everything to me. My life is and always will be devoted to reproductive justice and freedom. You know how in some households you curse and have to put money in a jar? Well in mine, if you mess up your pro-choice messaging you have to give a sizable donation to abortion funds (https://abortionfunds.org/need-abortion) in New York, Texas and Ohio 💰I look forward to fighting with you all for the next four years and beyond. [7]
