Donna Karan, the fashion icon is opening up about her 1970's abortion to reach out to women who find themselves in the same situation. She revealed the decision candidly in her new memoir, "My Journey," and elaborated on the circumstances that led to it on Friday, November 20 during an interview with HuffPost Live.
"I said, 'I can't even fathom doing this,' and abortion had just been legalized -- it was that week," she relates and continued. "I told Mark about it and I said, 'I really think this is what I have to do', and he agreed with me and supported me completely on it."
The designer was married to musician Mark Karan, but was having an affair with artist Stephan Weiss at the time she became pregnant and admits they "weren't sure whose child it was."
Karan made the "difficult" choice to terminate her pregnancy. She recounts the difficult situation and her decision to have an abortion, the same year that marked the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, legalizing the procedure.
The 67-year-old said it was "wonderful" to have her husband as well as her mother support her through the process.
Donna Karan, who has a daughter named Gabby Karan De Felice from her first marriage, and two stepchildren Cory Weiss and Lisa Weiss — decided to open up about her abortion to connect with those who may have gone through it, too.
"I know so many times that women really go 'What do I do? How do I handle this?' and I wanted to show that I'm with them," she said. "I totally understand what it's like -- I went through it."
The DKNY founder eventually divorced Mark Karan in 1978 and married Weiss five years later. Weiss died at 62 in 2011.
