She added that she never felt guilty and believes it’s important for people to finally normalize saying no to pregnancy without needing explanations or trauma stories.
Many find this attitude refreshing and liberating. They feel Lily Allen is giving a voice to women who refuse to apologize for their abortions and are tired of the societal expectation that their choice is only "valid" if it comes with a tragic backstory. And honestly, they’re right. I agree that a woman doesn’t owe anyone a justification to have the right to end a pregnancy. She doesn’t have to be poor, abused, or a teenager—it’s enough that she got pregnant and simply doesn’t want a child.
But even so, I can’t stay silent about Lily Allen’s statement. While the right to abortion should indeed be unconditional, the way she talked about it left me more saddened than inspired. I’m not questioning the right itself, but the attitude she represents.
Abortion Is Not Shameful, But It Shouldn’t Be Trivialized
It’s a serious, weighty, and responsible decision that—even when made with full conviction—can’t be equated with contraception. Saying someone doesn’t know how many abortions they’ve had strikes me not as liberating honesty but as cold, cynical detachment.
It’s as if we’re not talking about people and potential lives, but some inconvenient administrative error we routinely fix.
I firmly believe in women’s right to abortion, but I also believe we must do everything to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Multiple abortions are a harsh and avoidable alternative to contraception.
So here it is: yes, I do criticize Lily Allen for this. And I’m still not against abortion. I don’t think she—or anyone—needs to "earn" the right to any abortion, even the tenth. The right to abortion isn’t reserved for those with heartbreaking stories. It belongs to everyone. Even if someone is irresponsible, holds values I disagree with, can’t recall how many times they’ve made this choice, or even if I think they’re not a good person. Our right to control our bodies is a fundamental right. It can’t be withheld just because someone doesn’t live the way we want.
We can’t say that "decent women" who agonize, cry, and make their decision with a heavy heart have the right to abortion—while "not decent" women just laugh about how many abortions they’ve had on a podcast.
We can’t say you only "deserve" bodily autonomy if you behave "properly." That’s exactly the mindset that has chained women’s control over their bodies for centuries.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t have an opinion about how someone exercises that right. Like any freedom, abuse can hurt others—and this is no exception. I am genuinely disturbed by the casualness with which Lily Allen discusses this. Not because I think abortion is a sin, but because I believe responsibility still matters, even when the law is clear.
I truly hope few people in the world think about abortion the way Lily Allen does. Those who do won’t be my favorite people. And that’s okay—my view and the fact that they absolutely have the right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term must coexist.
