One of the best-kept secrets of Sally Field (77) has been disclosed by herself in a video on Instagram. Dressed casually with her gray hair tied back, the star of Norma Rae (1979) shares that at 17 she underwent an illegal abortion. The actress has candidly recounted that traumatic experience that left a lasting impact, all in light of the upcoming American elections in September to support Kamala Harris, a defender of abortion rights.
"I have hesitated a lot to do this, to tell my horrible story. It was during a time even worse than now. A time when contraceptives were not easy to obtain and only accessible if one was married," the actress states in the video.
Right after graduating from high school, Sally told her parents she was pregnant. Without family support or enough resources to move forward, a family doctor arranged everything for her to travel to Mexico for the abortion. In the car were her mother, the doctor, and his wife.
The actress recounts when the doctor handed her money in an envelope and they went to a very rundown street in Tijuana where the procedure was to take place. The surprise came as soon as she lay on the table: "They didn't give me anesthesia. There was a technician who gave me ether to inhale, but only my arms and legs went numb. So, I felt all the pain," adding more drama to this nightmare: "I realized the technician was sexually assaulting me, so I had to figure out how to move my arms to push him away. What a shame!".
Sally Field is aware that many women of her generation, due to the prevailing puritanism in the country that still lingers, experienced similar events to hers. Faced with this dilemma, Spiderman's Aunt May ended with a hopeful message: "Like me, they must fight for their grandchildren and for all the young women in this country."
The star of Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) alongside the late Robin Williams has been married twice. The first time to Steven Craig, with whom she had two sons, Peter (54), a screenwriter and novelist, and Eli (52), an actor and director. From 1976 to 1980, she had a romance with Burt Reynolds, and from 1984 to 1994, she was married to Alan Greisman, with whom she had another child, Sam (37).