Alyssa Milano Reveals She Had Two Abortions In 1993: 'I Was Not Equipped To Be A Mother'

Alyssa Milano is opening up about why she’s so vocally pro-choice — and sharing more about her own difficult experiences in the past which led her to this moment.

The 46-year-old actress got candid on a recent episode of her podcast Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry, revealing to her audience the story about how, back in 1993, she had not one but two abortions.

Speaking about her then-relationship with an unidentified boyfriend, the New York native opened up about how difficult and emotional things were for her in making those life-changing decisions.

Alyssa candidly explained to her listeners:

“In 1993, I had two abortions. I was in love for the first time, in the breathless way you can only be in love when you are young. It was huge, overwhelming even. It filled every part of living. And it was a joyful and exciting and powerful time in my life.”

The pregnancy, the former Charmed star revealed, was a huge surprise to her considering she’d been taking birth control as directed. Furthermore, having just turned 21 years old, she knew she “was not ready to be a parent,” for a variety of reasons.

And as she considered her future and weighed her options, the TV star determined the right course of action for her:

“It was devastating. I was raised Catholic and was suddenly put in conflict with my faith. A faith I was coming to realize empowered only men to make every single decision about what was allowed and what was not allowed. I had a career and a future and potential. And also, I suffered from sometimes crippling anxiety.

So I knew, I knew at that time, I was not equipped to be a mother, and so I chose to have an abortion. I chose. It was my choice. And it was absolutely the right choice for me. It was not an easy choice. It was not something I wanted, but it was something that I needed, like most health care is.”

Wow — very vulnerable, and very real.

The actress continued, noting how her personal experiences with abortion (the second time, too) have impacted her political positions on the matter:

“I refuse to allow any one else’s bull s**t morality to force me into a life of pre-marital celibacy. I refuse to live in the narrative that sexual pleasure is for men and that women exist to deliver that pleasure. My body gives me pleasure … Nobody will try and say that he was at fault for enjoying sex with me, but you can be damn sure that the men enacting these laws think less of me for deriving the same pleasure from him. They tell you the pill is 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancies and yet, a few months later, I found out I was pregnant again. So I had done what I knew to do to prevent pregnancy and was still pregnant. So once again I made the right decision to end that pregnancy.”

Again, very well said, and a very powerful message to hear.

Alyssa Milano on the red carpet in 2018. / (c) WENN

And it wasn’t all for naught, either.

Now happily married to husband Dave Bugliari and the proud mother of four-year-old Elizabeth and seven-year-old Milo, the actress looked back upon how those events 25 years ago helped get her to a place where she can be the mom and wife she needs to be today:

“I would not have my children, my beautiful, perfect, loving, kind and inquisitive children who have a mother who was so very, very ready for them. I would not have my career. I would not have the ability or platform I use to fight against oppression with all my heart. I would never have met my amazing husband, David, whose steadfast and immeasurable love for me sustains me through these terrifying times. Fifteen years after that first love had fizzled, my life would be completely lacking all its great joys. I would never have been free to be myself.

And that’s what this fight is all about — freedom. Freedom from oppression. Freedom for women to have the audacity to be equally sexual beings as men. Freedom for women to live the life they were meant to have, not just the life that is thrust upon them by a pregnancy that cannot exist in their life.”

Without a doubt, it’s quite a powerful, memorable conclusion. And though she may have opened herself up for criticism from the pro-life far right by revealing this powerful story, Milano never backs down during the podcast — nor does she apologize for the decisions she made.

The entire podcast is well worth your time, Perezcious readers; Milano provides much more context and sensitivity to this very, very difficult and emotional subject.

Click HERE to listen to the actress tell her full story…

[Image via WENN]