The Affair Showrunner Sarah Treem Penned A Powerful Essay About Abortion

It's no secret that reproductive rights are being threatened under the new administration in the United States. Now, many women who have had abortions are speaking up about the importance of keeping the procedure safe and legal. One such woman is Sarah Treem, the showrunner of Showtime's The Affair. In a powerful new essay for Variety, the TV writer describes the circumstances surrounding her own abortion and how it changed her life. In the essay, Treem describes breaking things off with an abusive partner, only to find out that she was pregnant a mere two weeks later. Treem writes in Variety that she discovered she was pregnant when she woke up in agony due to an “ovarian torsion” that was the result of the pregnancy. "Upon reviewing my ultrasound, the OB-GYN told me the fetus was smaller than usual and probably not viable. She also said the only way to stop the pain would be to end the pregnancy. I thought about being connected to this man for the rest of my life, and I made a decision [to have an abortion]." Though Treem described the day of her abortion as one of the "worst days" of her life, she writes in Variety that she "never regretted the choice for a minute." The showrunner joins celebrities like Jemima Kirke, Nicki Minaj, and Chelsea Handler in sharing her abortion story. It's these stories that take on the powerful task of destigmatizing the controversial issue, and remind us how necessary it is that women retain the rights to their own bodies.