Hannah Gadsby Says She Had An Abortion After Rape

Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby slammed Alabama’s law that effectively bans abortion , stating that her life was saved because she was able to access the procedure after her sexual assault. 

In a “Variety” cover story celebrating Pride, the “Nanette” star predicted that if her assault had happened in Alabama with its restrictive abortion law in place, she would have ended up dead. 

“It’s as simple as that,” she added. “I was assaulted, raped, and very, very vulnerable. How was I going to raise a child? I would have ended up dead. How is that pro-life? You can’t say women can’t have abortions and then provide absolutely no infrastructure to help them.”

The comedian shared deeply personal stories, including the homophobia, violence and sexual assault she’s experienced, in the critically acclaimed Netflix comedy special that fueled her rise to fame.

In an interview with HuffPost last year, the comedian said “fury” fueled her revolutionary stand-up routine and was the most constructive way for her to put her anger to use. She considered the performance a “call to action” for other comics to be constructive with their art, too. 

“There are comics who are more worried about their freedom of speech than they are about what the fuck they’re putting out in the world,” she said.

Read Gadsby’s interview here.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline  or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website .