Britney Spears reveals “agonising” abortion she had while dating Justin Timberlake

Britney Spears has opened up about the “agonising” abortion she had while she was in a relationship with Justin Timberlake more than 20 years ago.

Spears, now 41, dated Timberlake from 1999 to 2002, with their relationship starting when she was just 17. She made the revelation in her soon-to-be released memoir, excerpts of which were published in People magazine on Tuesday.

“It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy,” Spears wrote of the pregnancy. She said that while she “would never” have had the abortion if it was “left up to me alone,” the decision was made after Timberlake expressed unhappiness about the pregnancy.

“I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than anticipated,” she wrote in the book.

“But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. I agreed not to have the baby.”

She adds, “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”

Recalling her experience undergoing the abortion, the pop singer writes: 

“To this day, it’s one of the most agonising things I have ever experienced in my life.”

While abortion advocates have praised Spears for speaking about her experience, some on social media have criticised a reluctance from the abortion lobby to address Spear’s claims that she was pressured to have an abortion. Many others have described her experience as sad, with pro-life advocates saying that her story is proof women are too often the ones left to mourn alone, and deal with the consequences of abortion.

Fans have also revisited her 2003 music video for her hit 'Every Time,' speculating whether the video, which features a woman giving birth to a baby girl in the background, while Spears sings the chorus. Some believe the song's lyrics could be referencing the abortion, viewing the words as an apology to her unborn baby rather than mourning the end of her three-year-long relationship with Timerlake.

"And every time I see you in my dreams I see your face, you're haunting me. I guess I need you, baby," the words of the song, are now being interpreted differently by some, with discussion around the music video going viral on social media.

Timberlake, who has previously spoken out in support of Planned Parenthood, including at a Barack Obama rally 2008, is facing sustained criticism online, with his Instagram followers among those to slam him for his treatment of Spears and for “forcing” her to have the abortion. “Shame on you,” multiple social media users told Timberlake on the platform.

A study published earlier this year pointed to the effects of pressure to abort on mental health – with authors stating that women who feel pressured to agree to abortion “are more likely to experience negative emotional and mental health reactions.”

Over 60 percent of women who had abortions reported high levels of pressure to abort from one or more sources, and those same women also reported higher levels of subsequent mental health and quality of life issues, according to the Lozier Institute peer-reviewed study published in the Cureus medical journal in February.

Lead author of the research and director of the Elliot Institute, David Reardon, said that the study found women who experienced pressure were “far more likely” to blame their abortion for a decline in mental health.

“Abortion clinics cannot claim to be pro-woman while at the same time allowing the majority of their clients to be pressured into unwanted abortions.  Our national study finds that women who feel pressured to have abortions are significantly more likely to blame their abortions for contributing to a decline in mental health, increased disruptions in their daily lives, and more frequent episodes of grief and loss,” he said.

According to the US study, women who reported being pressured into an abortion by either their male partner or a family member also reported statistically significant levels of negative emotions due to their abortion and interference with daily life, work or relationships.

They also experienced intrusive thoughts, including flashbacks to the abortion; frequent feelings of loss, grief, or sadness about the abortion; and increased levels of stress answering questions about the abortion according to researchers – who used a marketing research firm, which surveyed 1000 women aged 41 to 45 living in the United States.

Spears’s memoir, entitled, ‘The Woman in Me’ is set to be released later this month. The tell-all book is promised to be "a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope” according to its publisher. 

The book deal is reported to be worth around 15 million dollars, and will also cover the singer’s campaign to end her conservatorship, which came to an end in 2021, and was the source of much public outcry and a Netflix documentary.

   

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Maria Maynes

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This article was published in Gript and is printed here with permission

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