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Stranger Things star Maya Hawke says she ‘wouldn’t exist’ if mum Uma Thurman didn’t get abortion-Rishma Dosani-Entertainment – Metro
‘Both of my parents’ lives would’ve been totally derailed.’
Stranger Things star Maya Hawke revealed that she ‘wouldn’t exist’ if mom Uma Thurman hadn’t previously had an abortion.
The actress, who plays Robin Buckley in the hugely popular Netflix sci-fi drama, is the eldest child of Uma and Ethan Hawke, and spoke about a discussion she had with her mother before appearing on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
At the beginning of her interview, the 23-year-old told the host that she had phoned the Kill Bill star to ask for advice over the TV interview, but their talk turned to last week’s Supreme Court ruling.
In a bombshell decision that has sparked protests across the US and around the world, Roe v Wade was overturned, ending the constitutional protections for abortion.
The initial decision ensured those who sought a termination would be able to access healthcare services.
However, the overturn means that individual states now are able to determine how they will regulate abortions – making it illegal for women to end their pregnancies in certain states.
Maya Hawke declared ‘f**k the Supreme Court’ during her TV interview (Picture: NBC)
‘We just got into talking about the Supreme Court ruling, and this essay that my mom wrote a couple months ago when they were putting these further restrictions on abortion access, preceding this whole thing,’ Maya began.
‘My mom wrote this really beautiful essay about her abortion that she got when she was really young, and about how if she hadn’t had it, she wouldn’t have become the person that she had become, and I wouldn’t exist.
‘Both of my parents’ lives would’ve been totally derailed if she hadn’t had access to safe and legal health care, fundamental health care.’
‘Wealthy people will always be able to get abortions,’ she continued. ‘But so many people, because of this ruling, will not only not be able to pursue their dreams, but actually lose their lives and be unsafe.’
Maya shared mom Uma’s advice to her (Picture: Getty)
‘So I just wanted to say, f**k the Supreme Court,’ Maya said to wild cheers from the audience, before the host clarified that she was ‘absolutely able’ to make that statement.
‘I can say f**k the Supreme Court? F**k the Supreme Court. Rock on,’ she added.
‘But we’re going to keep fighting it, and we’re going to win, like our grandmothers did.’
Uma previously spoke about her termination last year, in an op-ed for the Washington Post, after a law came into effect in Texas which banned abortions from as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
Maya is currently starring in Netflix series Stranger Things (Picture: Getty)
In a poignant piece, she explained that she terminated her child when she was 15 years old, after being ‘accidentally impregnated by a much older man’ she was seeing at the time.
She reflected on her past, sharing that she was living in Europe and wanted to keep the baby, but eventually made the decision to have an abortion after speaking to her parents.
‘They asked me about the status of my relationship – it was not viable – and warned me how difficult it would be to raise a baby as a teen on my own. My childish fantasy of motherhood was soundly corrected as I weighed answers to their very precise questions,’ the Hollywood icon wrote.
Uma previously opened up about getting a termination (Picture: Getty)
‘I was just starting out in my career and didn’t have the means to provide a stable home, even for myself. We decided as a family that I couldn’t go through with the pregnancy, and agreed that termination was the right choice. My heart was broken nonetheless.’
Uma underwent the termination in Germany, under local anesthetic, and recalled that it ‘hurt terribly’, but she believed that she ‘deserved the pain’.
She is now mother to Maya and Levon Roan, from her marriage to Ethan Hawke, and daughter Luna with financier Arpad Busson.
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Uma said that, while the decision still saddens her, she does not regret it, as it led her to the life she now has with her children.
‘I conceived my beautiful, magical children with men whom I loved and trusted enough to dare to bring a child into this world. I have no regrets for the path I have travelled. I applaud and support women who make a different choice,’ she added.
‘The abortion I had as a teenager was the hardest decision of my life, one that caused me anguish then and that saddens me even now, but it was the path to the life full of joy and love that I have experienced. Choosing not to keep that early pregnancy allowed me to grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be.’
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