In 1964, Sally Field found out she was pregnant. Only 17 at the time, Field was set to star in her first television role “Gidget,” leaving the young actor with no other choice than to terminate the pregnancy. In her memoir, the “Norma Rae” star documented her abortion experience, revealing that her stepfather, Jock Mahoney, arranged for her to go to Mexico to get the procedure.
At the time, the Roe vs. Wade judgment was yet to be passed, making abortion illegal in the United States. The young actor was then accompanied to Mexico by her mother and a family friend. Though unnamed, Field confirmed that she had gotten pregnant by a boy she met after graduating from high school.
Unsurprisingly, given her own experience, Field grew up to become an advocate for reproductive rights, joining a legion of stars to condemn the legislative decision to criminalize abortion in the United States. “Those men who are doing that, and they’re mostly male governors who are doing it, are so backward, so ignorant and really just power hungry. I think it’s criminal. They’re so wanting to roll back the achievements and important progress for women, for Blacks, for the LGBTQ community,” the veteran actor criticized in a 2022 interview with Variety.
