Sally Field Recalls Undergoing 'Horrific' Illegal Abortion In Emotional Video

Field described the procedure as an "absolute pit of shame" and likened her experience to that of many women today.

Sally Field is speaking about the “horrific” experience of undergoing an illegal abortion as a teenager in hopes of encouraging voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris in next month’s presidential election.

The “Steel Magnolias” actor became visibly emotional in a video shared Sunday to Instagram in which she acknowledged still feeling “very shamed” about the procedure, which took place before she landed what was to be her breakout role on the comedy series “Gidget.”

“I was 17. I had no choices in my life,” Field explained. “I didn’t have a lot of family support in any way or finances. I’d graduated from high school, but no one ever said, ‘How about college?’ I didn’t know what was going to be, and then I found out I was pregnant.”

Accompanied by her mother and a family doctor, Field said, she traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to undergo the abortion, which she paid for in cash.

“It was beyond hideous and, you know, life-altering,” she said. “I had no anesthetic.” During the procedure, she realized that a technician had begun “molesting” her: “It was just this absolute pit of shame.”