In the final week ahead of Nov. 5, all eyes are on just a handful of states that will decide the outcome of a historic election. That’s why Chrissy Teigen was in Arizona over the weekend, speaking about her own experience with reproductive health care and canvassing with the Arizona for Abortion Access campaign.
“Abortion is health care. And no matter what state you live in, politicians are never more qualified to make health care decisions than women,” Teigen tells PS.
For Teigen, a mother of four, the issue is personal. In 2020, she and husband John Legend shared news that they had lost their baby, a son they named Jack, in a miscarriage at 20 weeks pregnant. Then, in 2022, Teigen opened up further. She described how Legend helped her realize that the medical intervention she opted for when it became clear the baby would not survive was an abortion.
“My mind was blown that day,” Teigen told the crowd in Phoenix on Sunday. “And I realized that same day that if I didn’t know the language around this and I didn’t know what was happening to my body, how could other people possibly empathize with our situation and our scenario? So I wanted to make sure that I became the person that could amplify all of you out here in making sure that the language is used, and it’s used in a correct, medical way, and that people know abortion is health care.”
Since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion rights have been a huge issue for voters. In Arizona, abortion is banned at 15 weeks, with an exception for saving the life of the mother, but no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. But voters will be able to directly weigh in on the issue in November: if passed, Prop 139 would amend the state constitution to protect the fundamental right to abortion. Similar initiatives are on the ballot in Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and several other states.
“Under Arizona’s abortion ban – which, by the way, fails to protect victims of rape or incest – women are being denied the care they need altogether or being forced to wait until their conditions worsen before their doctors can help them,” Teigen says. “This issue is deeply personal to me.”
On Saturday, Teigen met with a small group of medical providers in a roundtable before speaking to a crowd and canvassing with other volunteers, including high-profile advocates like Deja Foxx. They’re among a group of celebrities – from superstars like Beyoncé to leading activists like Ai-jen Poo – who are making a final push ahead of Nov. 5 to get out the vote.
Ahead of what promises to be a hugely consequential election result, Teigen has one main message for voters in the Grand Canyon State: “Saying yes to Prop 139 is about putting women – not politicians – back in control of personal medical decisions in Arizona and ending the dangerous abortion ban. That’s why I’m here with just under 10 days to go before Election Day, to urge all Arizonans: vote ‘yes’ on Prop 139.”
Lena Felton (she/her) is a senior content director at PS, where she oversees feature stories, special projects, and identity content. Previously, she was an editor at The Washington Post, where she led a team covering issues of gender and identity. She has been working in journalism since 2017, during which time her focus has been feature writing and editing and elevating historically underrepresented voices. Lena has worked for The Atlantic, InStyle, So It Goes, and more.
