--- title: Watch Jemima Kirke Explain Why She Got Her Abortion Without Anesthesia description: In a new PSA for the Center for Reproductive Rights, 'Girls' actress Jemima Kirke opens up about her abortion during college. canonical: https://time.com/3821396/jemima-kirke-anesthesia-abortion-video/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-14T17:17:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:07:48.028Z og:title: Watch 'Girls' Actress Jemima Kirke Discuss Her Abortion og:description: She says she couldn't afford the anesthesia, so she went without og:url: https://time.com/3821396/jemima-kirke-anesthesia-abortion-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a5b5eef15a12d5e/6987eafbcd1bba8f6b6f8efb/jemima-kirke.jpg?branch=production&width=933&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 933 og:image:height: 525 og:image:alt: HBO'S Post Golden Globe Party og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch 'Girls' Actress Jemima Kirke Discuss Her Abortion twitter:description: She says she couldn't afford the anesthesia, so she went without twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a5b5eef15a12d5e/6987eafbcd1bba8f6b6f8efb/jemima-kirke.jpg?branch=production&width=933&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Jemima Kirke Explain Why She Refused Anesthesia During Her Abortion > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ec42fb76-b7ba-4731-ab5a-e75fcada90e5&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Jemima Kirke Shares Her Story About Ending a Pregnancy [Watch (HLS stream): Jemima Kirke Shares Her Story About Ending a Pregnancy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3ajhmX45.m3u8) (3:05)  _Published 2015-04-14. Jemima Kirke Shares Her Story About Ending a Pregnancy_  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Apr 14, 2015 5:17 PM UTC Jemima Kirke Shares Her Story About Ending a Pregnancy  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Apr 14, 2015 5:17 PM UTC _Girls_ actress Jemima Kirke is opening up about an abortion she got during college. In a new PSA for the Center for Reproductive Rights, Kirke says she became pregnant with her boyfriend’s child while at college in Providence, R.I. “My life was just not conducive to raising a healthy, happy child,” she says. “I just didn’t feel it was fair.” Even though her family is well off (her father is former [Bad Company](http://www.badcompany.com/) drummer Simon Kirke, and her mother is fashion designer Lorraine Kirke), she didn’t want to tell her parents about the pregnancy, so she had to pay for the abortion herself. She scraped together the money with her boyfriend, but they didn’t have enough for anesthesia, so she got the abortion without it. “The anesthesia wasn’t that much more, but when you’re scrounging for however many hundreds of dollars, it is a lot. I just didn’t have it.” Kirke presents her story as an example of the various obstacles that are put in women’s way when it comes to making reproductive choices. “We think we do have free choice, and we are able to do whatever we want, but then there are these little hoops we have to jump through to get them,” she says. The actress and painter said she talks about her story in order to reduce the stigma surrounding reproductive choices, and because she wants to protect reproductive rights for her two young daughters. “I would love if when they’re older, and they’re in their teens or their 20s, if the political issues surrounding their bodies were not there anymore,” she said, adding that settling the debate about reproductive rights would give them “one less thing to battle.” ## Transcript [00:06] My name is Jemima Kirke and I live in New York City. I [00:11] am an artist and an actor and the mother of two. In 2007, [00:16] I became pregnant with my boyfriend at the time. [00:20] I wasn't sure that I wanted to be attached [00:25] to this person for the rest of my life. My life just was not [00:28] conducive to raising a healthy, happy child. I [00:32] just didn't feel it was fair. So I decided to get an abortion. [00:37] And I went to Planned Parenthood in Providence, Rhode [00:41] Island where I was at school. Because I couldn't tell my [00:45] mother that I was pregnant, I had to pay for it out [00:49] of pocket. I did have to like, you know, empty my. [ MUSIC ] [00:52] My you know, my checking account, what I had in there [00:56] and some from my boyfriend. And I realized that if I didn't [01:00] take the anesthesia I could afford to do this. [01:04] And the anesthesia wasn't really that much more. But [01:08] when you're scrounging for you know, how many ever [01:12] hundreds of dollars? It's a lot, I just didn't have it. It's [01:16] these obstacles and it's this stigma that makes, that makes, [01:20] that makes these things, not completely unavailable. And [01:24] that's the tricky part, is that we think there's so, we think we, [01:28] we do. You have free choice and we are able to do [01:30] whatever we want. But then there are these little hoops we [01:32] have to jump through to get them. I've always felt that [01:36] reproductive issues should be something that women [01:40] especially should be able to talk about freely, especially [01:43] amongst each other. And I still see that today. I still see [01:47] shame and embarrassment around terminating [01:51] pregnancies, getting. Pregnant, I, I still see it. So I have [01:55] always been open about my stories. Always [02:00] shared them, especially with other women. I have two [02:03] daughters actually. I have a stepdaughter who's eight and I [02:08] have my younger one who is four. I'm already, anticipating [02:13] their issues with. With self esteem, their issues with their [02:17] body, you know, the, the sort of the whole luggage that [02:21] comes with being a woman. And so I would, I would love if [02:25] when their older and their in their teens or their twenties. [02:29] That that, that, the political issue surrounding their body [02:33] was, weren't, were not, were not there anymore, you [02:36] know? That they don't, they have one less thing to battle, [02:39] you know, around their bodies and. Cuz they'll always be [02:43] there and their own criticisms and their own battles will be [02:46] there. But. I would hate to see them having to, to [02:50] fight for rights over their bodies as well. 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