Kerry Washington Bravely Tells ‘The View’ She Let Go Of The “Shame” Of Her Abortion: “Does Not Make Me A Bad Person”

Nothing was off-limits during The View‘s interview with Kerry Washington, who bravely opened up about having an abortion right as her acting career began to take off.

On this morning’s episode of the hit daytime talk show, the Scandal star revealed that the first draft of her book, Thicker Than Water, didn’t include her abortion story. However, she did write about keeping “our reproductive lives cloaked in secrecy” when it comes to abortions, miscarriages, adoption and infertility.

“I wanted to tell the story because I felt like having an abortion doesn’t make me a bad person,” she said. “The right to have an abortion is an important right. It’s a part of my agency as a woman.”

Washington continued, “It’s fine if you don’t agree with abortion. It’s fine if you don’t think you want to have one. But you don’t get to tell me what to do with my body and make the choices that are right for me.”

According to Washington, her abortion story revolves around her “loss of privacy.” While she said she briefly touched on the subject in the first draft of her book, her editor asked for more context, prompting her to include more about the story, which she had already written but previously decided not to include.

“I do think this idea of abortion being criminalized and judged is just not OK,” she said. “It’s not OK for women or doctors to be criminalized around healthcare. And abortion is healthcare.”

The Django Unchained star added that she wanted to let go of the shame of her abortion — and hopefully inspire others — by including her experience in her book.

“Part of why I put it in was to stand in my truth and to not hold shame around it,” she said. “And part of it was because I thought if I do that, maybe it will help other people let go of their shame and understand that this is something that happens a lot and it’s OK to talk about and it’s OK to protect.”

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.