Halsey Speaks Out Against Roe v. Wade Ruling: “My Abortion Saved My Life”

Halsey has never been shy to speak up about abortion rights, especially surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Now, the American singer has bravely opened up about their own experience with abortion in a highly intimate essay for Vogue.

Halsey has previously spoken out about her struggles with endometriosis, which they say contributed to reproductive health issues. The 27-year-old, who was born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, revealed in their new essay that they had three miscarriages before they turned 24. One of these miscarriages was particularly traumatic, and an abortion was used to save her life.

“One of my miscarriages required ‘aftercare,’ a gentle way of saying that I would need an abortion, because my body could not terminate the pregnancy completely on its own and I would risk going into sepsis without medical intervention,” she wrote. “During this procedure, I cried. I was afraid for myself and I was helpless. I was desperate to end the pregnancy that was threatening my life.”

Halsey, who has soon-to-be-1-year-old Ender Ridley Aydin with screenwriter Alev Aydin, was so scarred from this experience that they rewrote their will during the third trimester of their pregnancy.

“After my past experiences, I was prepared for the worst. I gave detailed instructions regarding the donation of my organs should I die or be declared brain-dead, meaning if my heart beat on but my brain wasn’t functioning, the state would have permission to cut into my warm and still flush flesh and take my organs to save other lives,” she writes. “How funny that while my own heart would amount to nothing more than a series of involuntary movements on an operating table, a beating heart in my womb could mean I couldn’t consent to saving my own life.”

While Halsey is now overjoyed to be a mother and to have experienced “the euphoria of chosen motherhood,” she is still fighting for the rights of every person to have an abortion if that’s what they want to do. The artist’s essay comes just days after a 10-year-old rape victim, who was six weeks pregnant, was denied an abortion in Ohio. Abortion is now banned after six weeks in this state, except in cases of “life endangerment” or “severely compromised physical health.” This little girl didn’t meet the criteria.

Halsey’s personal essay was the “Closer” singer’s way of calling out those who played a role in ending abortion rights. They said: “Many people have asked me if, since carrying a child to term after years of struggling to do so, I have reconsidered my stance on abortion. The answer is firmly no. In fact, I have never felt more strongly about it. My abortion saved my life and gave way for my son to have his. Every person deserves the right to choose when, if, and how they have this dangerous and life-altering experience. I will hold my son in one arm, and fight with all my might with the other.”