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In a new conversation with Gloria Steinem and journalist Jessica Yellin, the Duchess of Sussex is reflecting on her pregnancies and speaking out about maternal health in a post-Roe America.
"I think about how fortunate I felt to be able to have both of my children," Meghan said, speaking about Archie, who is 3, and Lili, who just turned 1 a few weeks ago in England. "It’s interesting that here you’re talking to two women: one who chose to give birth happily, and one who chose not to give birth happily. And we’re both prospering because we were able to make our own choices. Incredible."
Meghan also opened up about her miscarriage, and the need to de-stigmatize discussion surrounding women’s health and abortions.
"I know what it feels like to have a connection to what is growing inside of your body. What happens with our bodies is so deeply personal, which can also lead to silence and stigma, even though so many of us deal with personal health crises. I know what miscarrying feels like, which I’ve talked about publicly. The more that we normalize conversation about the things that affect our lives and bodies, the more people are going to understand how necessary it is to have protections in place," she said.
In a moving essay published in the New York Times in November 2020, the Duchess revealed that she suffered a miscarriage in July of that same year. Meghan shared intimate details of her time in the hospital, in hopes that it might reduce the "taboo" of speaking about miscarriage.
"Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few. In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning," she wrote. "Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same."
