Britney Spears on Abortion

October 31, 2023
Kyle Lewis
Abortion, Uncategorized

Yesterday I finished reading Britney Spears’ biography, The Woman In Me. You may be wondering, “Why is a pastor reading Britney Spears’ biography?” My answer would be, “Because I love reading biographies!” I am about the same age as Britney so I was certainly aware of her growing up. Her type of music was not the type that I listened (or currently listen) to, so I am mainly reading out of interest about her life. I find famous people interesting!

One of the things that immediately stuck out to me near the beginning of the book was something that multiple news websites saw as well. Britney was dating Justin Timberlake and got pregnant. She was fairly young, in her young 20s, but certainly old enough and wealthy enough to manage having a baby. She writes that Justin did not want her to have the baby so he and Britney’s chaperone/friend arranged for her to have an abortion at her home by medicine.

Here are her words:

On the appointed day, with only Felicia and Justin there, I took the little pills. Soon I started having excruciating cramps. I went into the bathroom and stayed there for hours, lying on the floor, sobbing and screaming. They should’ve numbed me with something, I thought. I wanted some kind of anesthesia. I wanted to go to the doctor. I was so scared. I lay there wondering if I was going to die.

When I tell you it was painful—I can’t begin to describe it. The pain was unbelievable. I went down to the ground on my knees, holding the toilet. For a long time, I couldn’t move. To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.

Still, they didn’t take me to the hospital. Justin came into the bathroom and lay on the floor with me. At some point he thought maybe music would help, so he got his guitar and he lay there with me, strumming it.

I kept crying and sobbing until it was all over. It took hours, and I don’t remember how it ended, but I do, twenty years later, remember the pain of it, and the fear. (Spears, Britney. The Woman in Me. Simon & Schuster Australia, 2023.)

Britney is not a Christian. She did not grow up in a Christian household. She is not some anti-abortion, pro-life advocate. She is a famous pop star. Knowing this makes this account even more chilling. She’s not trying to convince people to not have abortions. She is simply describing what she went through. And by her account, it is terrifying and horribly painful.

Perhaps those pro-life folks are on to something. When it comes to pregnancy, perhaps choosing life instead of death is in the best interest of the child AND the pregnant mother.