Chelsea Handler Opens Up for First Time About Her Teenage Abortion

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Earlier this week, Chelsea Handler talked with Rosie O’Donnell about an abortion she had as teenager.

Before Handler terminated her pregnancy at 16, the comedienne had wanted to become a mother, she said during an appearance on The Rosie Show. Handler’s parents convinced her otherwise.

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“You're not having a child right now,” Handler remembered her parents telling her. “This is not what our family's about. You know, you're supposed to create a life for yourself, and we want you to enjoy your life and not be raising a child. And we're certainly not going to raise it for you.”

Handler said it was the right decision, and that she would not have been a good mother.

"You should do whatever you want with your body and you shouldn't let anyone tell you what to do," said Handler, host of E!’s Chelsea Lately. “I have no regret at all.”

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Handler’s comments come as the national discussion about abortion has been reinvigorated, thanks to the race for the Republican presidential nomination. All four remaining candidates have touted his pro-life bona fides. 

O’Donnell noted that pro-life groups often say abortions ruin women’s lives.

“That’s not the stuff I’ve heard from my friends who have had abortions. It’s not that it ruined their life.” O’Donnell said. “Not that it was a casual thing that they never think about again, but it wasn’t a life-defining negative thing.”