South African actress Lesley-Ann Brandt published an op-ed for SELF Magazine on Monday detailing her decision to abort her first pregnancy, stating that she “simply wasn’t ready” and “didn’t want to be a mother” and that reason is "good enough.”
Brandt, who starred in the television series “Lucifer,” first became pregnant with her “then-boyfriend, now husband” at age 32. The couple had been together for two years. She discovered she was pregnant while filming the show “Killer Women.”
“We lived together and were committed, but neither one of us was ready for parenthood,” Brandt wrote. She booked an abortion stat, and noted that the same day, she got a call to test for a show where the women couldn’t become pregnant. However, she mentions that she “auditioned in front of Warner Bros executives, producers, and the director, and booked that pilot while pregnant.”
Brandt went on to explain that abortion gave her autonomy over her own body and the ability to embark on opportunities in her career. She then slammed the United States’ “poor” healthcare system and for not having federally mandated maternity leave that “[force] [women] into a situation they don’t want and are not ready for.”
“At age 32, my abortion gave me choice, autonomy over my own body, and opportunities in my career.
People have abortions for many reasons. In my case, I simply wasn’t ready. That’s it, and that’s good enough. I didn’t want to be a mother at that moment in my life, so I made a decision that was best for me and my relationship. I could afford to have that abortion. I also had the means to start my family without skipping a beat in my career. Millions of women do not have those luxuries, with many being forced into a situation they don’t want and are not ready for.
The truth is that banning abortion will not stop abortion, it just makes already vulnerable people’s lives more difficult. It stops safe abortion because, rest assured, wealthy people will still have access to abortion services. It is the poor who suffer. It is those people already struggling who will bear the brunt of archaic legislation and fake cries of “pro-life.” At the very same time that the Texas anti-abortion bill was passed, legislators in that state made it easier to buy a gun and harder to vote.
In a country like the United States, with poor health care, no federally mandated maternity leave, and women still fighting for equal pay and adequate childcare support, how dare anyone question a woman’s right to choose what’s best for her and her life?”
In 2017, Brandt gave birth to her son, Kingston, while recovering from a torn ACL. She wrapped up her article by addressing her toddler-age son directly.
“To my son, Kingston: I love you. I chose to have you when I was ready. And it’s the best decision I've ever made,” she wrote.
Brandt joins the likes of stars like Uma Thurman who’ve come forward in recent months about their decision to have an abortion. On the contrary, celebrities like Jamie Lynn Spears, who became pregnant at 16, and country artist RaeLynn, who released a song in September detailing her mother’s decision to choose life following an extramarital affair, are widely ignored by the media.