CNN
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Just over a month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, musician John Legend advocates for access to abortion and reproductive rights.
In an interview with David Axelrod for CNN’s “The Ax Files” podcast, Legend described his own experience with the 2020 miscarriage of his wife, model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen.
“Anyone who is dealing with a pregnancy knows that none of this is casual, none of this is frivolous. And it’s so intimate, and it’s so personal,” he said. Why do we want our government to be involved in these decisions?”
The caption referred to strict abortion restrictions in some states, which limited patients’ ability to access standard care in the event of a miscarriage. A woman in Texas, for example, was forced to carry the remains of a fetus inside her for two and a half weeks after having a miscarriage last year due to strict anti-abortion laws.
“Anyone who has a miscarriage, after all this trauma, all this pain, all these tears that we have been through, must then ask the local prosecutor or local law enforcement to investigate and ensure that the miscarriage layer was state approved…to have the government involved in this conversation in any way is so offensive to me,” he said.
Teigen and Legend announced that they lost their child to pregnancy complications in 2020. Teigen was about halfway through her pregnancy with the couple’s third child, whom they had started calling Jack. Teigen opened up about the difficulties of her miscarriage and wrote an emotional essay about traumatic loss.
The two are parents to Luna and Miles, both conceived through IVF, and announced on Wednesday that they are expecting another child.
Government involvement in reproductive rights is “nasty is wrong. This shouldn’t even be a discussion. The government shouldn’t be involved,” Legend said.
In his interview with Axelrod, Legend highlighted the devastating experiences of patients who undergo late-term abortions. “Anyone making this heartbreaking decision at this stage of pregnancy is only doing so because they have a serious reason to do so, whether it’s the health of the mother or the health of the child,” he said. declared.
The star hopes to be able to use her platform to advocate for change. “I’ve grown over time to understand how to use my fame and how to use the power I have and the reach I have and the resources I have to actually make a difference.”