--- title: Lena Dunham Wants You to #AskYourMother About Abortions description: "Because talking about it keeps it from being shameful," Dunham and Jenni Konner write in their latest Lenny Letter. canonical: https://time.com/4034526/lena-dunham-askyourmother/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-15T12:09:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:14.057Z og:title: Lena Dunham Wants You to #AskYourMother About Abortions Before Roe v Wade og:description: "Because talking about it keeps it from being shameful," Dunham and Jenni Konner write in their latest Lenny Letter. og:url: https://time.com/4034526/lena-dunham-askyourmother/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteed972766cee12a1/698863985f570fc760b1d5cc/lena-dunham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1949 og:image:height: 1096 og:image:alt: 6th Annual L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lena Dunham Wants You to #AskYourMother About Abortions Before Roe v Wade twitter:description: "Because talking about it keeps it from being shameful," Dunham and Jenni Konner write in their latest Lenny Letter. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteed972766cee12a1/698863985f570fc760b1d5cc/lena-dunham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lena Dunham Wants You to #AskYourMother About Abortions Before _Roe_ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. 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Paul Redmond—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 15, 2015 12:09 PM UTC Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner asked two septuagenarians about life before _Roe v. Wade_, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, and they want young people across the U.S. to do the same. In a preview from the _Girls_ masterminds upcoming digital newsletter [Lenny Letter](http://lennyletter.com/), Konner and Dunham argue that the stories of women and men who experienced abortion before it was legal are important given the recurring interest in stopping the practice. Several states have already placed restrictions on the procedure, many in the south. Congressional Republicans are seeking to defund Planned Parenthood in the wake of a series of secretly-taped videos that anti-abortion activists say show officials from the organization discussing the sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood has repeatedly written the videos off as deceptive and misleading and denies profiting from fetal tissue donations. In Tuesday’s letter, which comes a little under two weeks before the 15th anniversary of the introduction of the abortion pill, Konner’s mom Ronnie Konner, 72, shares the story of her pre-Roe abortion. Konner traveled across the U.S.-Mexico border alone to get an illegal abortion, paying a man she’d never met $300 and hoping for the best. --- > “” --- Dunham and Konner think that by having young people inquire about peoples’ experiences before the practice was legal because “talking about it keeps it from being shameful.” “It reminds us where we’ve come from and why we can’t go back there,” they write. ## Transcript [00:00] Abortion is a deeply personal decision. It [00:04] should not be a political debate. We should not be [00:08] playing doctor with women's lives. Its the biggest [00:11] political, purely political and I understand your story [00:15] but you don't understand mine. [ MUSIC ] I [00:23] had a procedure at 17 weeks, pregnant [00:28] with a child that had moved from the vagina [00:33] into the cervix. At 16 I got an abortion. And [00:37] I had to go to my dad, and I had to tell him, Dad, I [00:42] don't wanna be like my sisters. I wanna do better, and [00:45] I know that I can't do it if I have a baby just like [00:49] everybody else in this family. My doctor told me that [00:52] this pregnancy would likely not be viable. And [00:56] that if I did not take swift medical action, [01:01] my life and any hope of future [01:06] babies would be in severe danger. [01:10] I heard all these stories that just fit your scenario. And [01:14] I respect Which you don't respect my [01:19] reason, my rape, my [01:26] abortion. When I was a child, I [01:31] was molested. Were you? Person. By one [01:36] particular person. It [01:44] turns out he had many many victims. This [01:48] man is a minister. He was my grandfather and [01:55] one of my relatives asked him What if I get pregnant. [01:58] And he said, don't worry we'll just stick a pencil up [02:02] there and take care of it. And my dad gave me the [02:05] money. And I went with a friend of mine and [02:10] I'll never forget being there and having that done. That [02:15] procedure that you just talk about Was a procedure [02:18] that I enjoy. But for you to stand on this floor and [02:23] to suggest, as you have, that somehow this [02:28] is a procedure that is either [02:32] welcomed or done cavalierly Or, [02:37] done without any thought, is preposterous. This [02:41] decision was up to me, [02:47] my husband, my doctor, and [02:52] my God. It was not up to any of you. [02:57] In this chamber. I don't regret it. [03:02] I don't regret it because I am here making a [03:06] difference, at least in my mind, for me and the other [03:10] young ladies. And I guarantee you there are other [03:13] women. Who should stand up with me and be [03:16] courageous enough to speak that voice. 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