“But then again, I can’t remember exactly how many… I want to say four or five.” Oliver, in response, shared that she’d had “about five” herself.

The reaction online was instant, and divided. Some praised Allen for her openness in a world that still demands women justify their reproductive choices. Others called the comments “irresponsible,” accusing her of treating abortion like casual birth control.

Allen anticipated some of the backlash in real time. Reflecting on one abortion in particular, she recalled how a man once paid for the procedure and how, at the time, she mistook it for a romantic gesture. “I don’t think it’s generous or romantic,” she said now. “He didn’t even follow up with me afterwards.”

Her frustration wasn’t just with men, though, it was with the broader cultural tendency to