Hannah Gadsby: I would have 'ended up dead' without abortion

Speaking as part of Variety's 'Pride' issue, Gadsby spoke out against the slate of new US anti-abortion laws.

Hannah Gadsby

Hannah Gadsby has opened up about the abortion she had after being raped. Source: Getty Images North America

Tasmania-born comedian Hannah Gadsby has revealed that she had an abortion after being raped, a story she first shared in her critically acclaimed Nanette comedy special.

Speaking to for the magazine's Pride issue, Gadsby addressed the subject of Alabama’s new anti-abortion law.

“They’re getting away with it because they’ve got into the branding really well. It’s not ‘pro-life,’” she said.

“What a stupid f*cking statement! I’m ‘pro-life,’ but I had an abortion. That sits very comfortably in my head as a duality.”
The comedian continued, stating that if she'd been prohibited from getting an abortion when she was younger she “would be dead.”

“Had I been in that state, under these laws, under these politics at that time in my life, I would be dead. It’s as simple as that,” she said.

“I was assaulted, raped, and very, very vulnerable. How was I going to raise a child? I would have ended up dead. How is that pro-life? You can’t say women can’t have abortions and then provide absolutely no infrastructure to help them.”

Gadsby is currently touring her new show Douglas internationally.

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Published 21 June 2019 10:45am
Updated 21 June 2019 1:20pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore

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