Sally Field's Nightmare Near-Death Illegal Abortion Revealed: Actress Tells How She 'Felt Everything' During Termination Aged 17 Without Anesthetic
Sally Field revealed her 'traumatic' abortion story.
Oct. 7 2024, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Sally Field opened up about undergoing a "traumatic" and illegal abortion as a teenager.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Forest Gump actress recalled how she drove to Mexico to terminate a pregnancy when she was 17-years-old, shortly before her acting career took off.
Field, 77, tearfully shared her story as anti-abortion laws have increasingly become a key issue ahead of November's presidential election.
The actress echoed a rally cry from Democratic nominee Kamala Harris as she vowed in the video: "We can't go back".
Field shared her story as she encouraged fans to support the Harris campaign.
Field took to Instagram on Sunday night to share the deeply personal story, something she admitted she was "hesitant" to do.
She captioned the post: "I’ve been so hesitant to do this, to tell my horrific story.
"It was during a time even worse than now. A time when contraception was not readily available and only if you were married.
"But I feel that so many women of my generation went through similar, traumatic events and I feel stronger when I think of them. I believe, like me, they must want to fight for their grandchildren and all the young women of this country."
Field revealed she found out she was pregnant at 17-years-old.
She recalled finding out she was pregnant at 17-year-old. As a recent high school graduate, Field said she did not have "a lot of family support or finances" when she received the news.
Field continued: "We had a family doctor who was a friend of the family, and he drove me, his wife and my mother in their brand-new Cadillac to Tijuana."
After arriving in Mexico, the Steel Magnolias star recalled how they "parked on a really scroungy-looking street" three blocks away from the clinic where she had her procedure.
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The 77-year-old actress said she still felt 'shame' over the situation.
The now-77-year-old star was given strict instructions.
She said: "(The family doctor) gave me an envelope with cash, and I was to walk into that building and give them the cash and then come right back to him."
On her family doctor wanting to be close to her, Field said: "I guess he thought if I were dying then maybe he could help me."
Field noted she was given "no anesthetic" before the "beyond hideous and life-altering" procedure.
She described being given a "few puffs of ether" which effectively did nothing because she "felt everything" while her arms and legs felt "weird and numb".
As if the moment could not get any worse for the teenage Field, she revealed "the situation turned darker" as she realized "the technician was actually molesting" her.
The actress added: "I had to figure out, how can I make my arms move to push him away?
“So it was just this absolute pit of shame. … When it was finished, they said, 'Go, go, go, go, go!' like the building was on fire."
Field said she was given 'no aesthetic' during the illegal procedure, which she had done in Mexico.
The Academy Award-winning actress then urged her followers to support Harris over Republican nominee Donald Trump as she vowed: "We can't go back."
She added: "These are the things that women are going through now. … And it's beyond, how you can go back to that and do that to our little girls and our young women and not have respect and regard for their health and their own decisions."
Field added a bit of sarcastic comic relief as she concluded her video, noting: "And that was that lovely story."