Lily Allen’s recent comments on the Miss Me podcast about her multiple abortions—delivered with a giggle as she guessed at four or five—have ignited a firestorm of public reaction.
But what’s most revealing isn’t what Allen said (even if she did sing that “she’s had a few but she can’t remember how many”, to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s My Way)...it’s how people are responding.
The Daily Mail article on the 2nd of July covering Allen’s remarks - where she admitted she had and once considered it “romantic” when an ex paid for an abortion for her - has attracted thousands of reader comments. And here’s the twist: the most upvoted responses aren’t from pro-life advocates. They’re from self-professed pro-choice readers who are, in their own words, “disgusted.”
The top-rated comment at the time of writing (with 9000 up-votes) reads:
“I’m all for pro-choice, but this cavalier attitude is sickeningly selfish.”
Another says:
“Abortion has its place but not as a contraceptive, nasty little woman.”
And another:
“I’m all for women deciding to have a termination but this is just awful, especially making light of it, just vile.”
And yet another:
“I've always been pro choice. Never pro using abortion as birth control. She should be ashamed of her blasé attitude to human life.”
And these aren’t outliers. They’re the consensus, among thousands of comments not just on this article but across social media - some calling her names I won’t repeat - but near universally finding her comments “vile, disgusting, appalling, sickening, horrible”, etc etc etc.
So what’s going on?
The Cracks in the Pro-Choice Façade
These reactions expose a deep inconsistency in the pro-choice worldview. If abortion is merely a medical procedure—no different from removing a mole or getting a tooth pulled—then why the outrage? Why the moral revulsion at Allen’s flippancy?
The answer is simple: because deep down, we all know abortion isn’t just a medical procedure. It ends a human life.
The discomfort people feel when Allen jokes about her abortions isn’t rooted in prudishness or moral superiority. It’s rooted in conscience. It’s the quiet voice that says, “This isn’t right.” And that voice is getting louder.
“Choice” Has a Shelf Life
The pro-choice movement has long insisted that abortion is a private matter, a personal decision, a woman’s right. But Allen’s comments have pushed that logic to its breaking point.
If abortion is a right, why does it matter how many times someone exercises it?
If it’s not a life, why does her attitude feel so callous?
If it’s just healthcare, why does it make people recoil?
The truth is, even many who call themselves “pro-choice” don’t really believe what that label implies. They believe abortion should be rare. They believe it should be a last resort. They believe it should be treated with gravity and sorrow—not laughter and song.
Indeed, this was even pointed out in a follow up piece published in the Metro, by Alice Wilson (who has had an abortion herself), titled “You can’t judge Lily Allen’s abortion confession and be pro-choice”. This piece is a desperate attempt to convince all these pro-choicers (who are horrified by Allen’s flippancy and casual use of abortion) that they should in fact be celebrating her freedom to choose any number of abortions for any reason at all.
If abortion doesn’t take a life, then I agree wholeheartedly with Ms Wilson. Why on earth should it matter whether you have one or ten, laughing all the while?
But if abortion does take a life, then the mass outrage and disgust that has arisen from the pro-choice side in response to Allen’s words (and which Wilson was writing to reprimand), is not just an understandable reaction…it’s a massive understatement!
The Moral Middle Ground Doesn’t Exist
What we’re seeing in the Mail Online comments and all over X, is a desperate attempt to occupy a moral middle ground that doesn’t exist. People want to support “choice” while still condemning what that choice entails. They want to defend abortion in theory but recoil from it in practice.
But abortion doesn’t change based on tone. Whether it’s done tearfully or cheerfully, it ends the same life.
And as we at CBR UK have consistently shown through our public education campaigns, the reality of abortion is not softened by euphemism or celebrity endorsement. It is what it is.
A Culture Desensitised
Allen’s comments didn’t come out of nowhere. They’re the product of a culture that has spent decades normalising abortion, sanitising its language, and silencing its victims. When we tell women that abortion is no big deal, we shouldn’t be surprised when they start to believe it.
But the backlash to Allen’s remarks suggests that the public isn’t as desensitised as the media might think. There’s still a moral compass at work. And it’s pointing toward life.
A Call to Consistency
If you’re one of the many who found Allen’s comments disturbing, ask yourself why. What is it about her attitude that feels wrong? And what does that say about what abortion really is?
You can’t be “pro-choice” and still insist that abortion be rare, solemn, or justified. That’s not a choice. That’s conscience. And conscience is calling us to something better.
It’s time to stop pretending that abortion is morally neutral. It’s time to stop hiding behind “choice.” And it’s time to start listening to that still, small voice that says: this isn’t right.
Because it isn’t.