The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade to end nearly 50 years of federal abortion rights has led to Paul Walker's daughter disclosing a very personal matter -- she sought an abortion during the height of the pandemic.
Meadow Walker, 23, took to Instagram on Friday and opened up about the highest court in the land doing away with landmark 1973 ruling and, as a result, the significant challenges women who seek abortions will now face. She called the decision "a huge setback in history" and "a profound injustice to women across the United State" before revealing her story.
"There are countless women who have struggled with making the decision to have an abortion," she said in her post. "I too battled with the choice in 2020, when the world was collapsing during the pandemic, I sought an abortion. It is a very private and personal experience - the way it should be."
Meadow, who runs her late father's foundation set up after his untimely 2013 dead following a fiery car crash, added that she was "lucky enough to have a great doctor who supported" her through the "debilitating process." Thanks to their help, Meadow says she's "able to be the happy and healthy person" she is today. But Friday's historic decision from the Supreme Court, Meadow argues, will have tragic consequences.
"Now, knowing even more women won’t have the opportunity to seek safe termination and choose their bodies first is absolutely heartbreaking," she wrote. "In a world that constantly marginalizes females, this feels like the biggest assault of them all. Banning abortion doesn’t prevent abortions, it prevents safe abortions."
A number of public figures reacted to the decision, including Dancing With The Stars pro Cheryl Burke, who opened up about her own abortion when she was 18.
"I am saddened by the news this morning, and it weighs heavy in my heart because I had an abortion when I was 18 years old," Burke said in a TikTok. "If it wasn’t for places like Planned Parenthood, I would be a mother."
Burke went on to say that her access to healthcare allowed her to build the life she loves now. "I wouldn’t have been a great mother," she said, "and I definitely wouldn’t be sitting here with you today."
Burke is not the first celeb to speak out against the Supreme Court ruling, but her story is one of the most personal. "I got an abortion while I was going through a really huge transition in my life," she said amid several deep breaths. "I was practicing safe sex, I was using protection, and I was on birth control, but sh*t happens."
Legendary actress Rita Moreno also told Variety that, years before the Supreme Court's 1973 decision on Roe v. Wade, Marlon Brando sent her to have an abortion after she got pregnant while they were dating.
"Marlon found a doctor through some friends," the 90-year-old actress told the outlet Friday. "He was a real doctor — Marlon paid him $500 — as opposed to something in a back alley."
The procedure, however, turned out to be a botched one, forcing the Oscar winner to be rushed to a hospital.
"Marlon took me to the hospital. I had what they told me was a 'disturbed pregnancy," Moreno said. "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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