Rita Moreno Puerto Rican Day Parade Celebration - 2021 Tribeca Festival© GettyImages

Rita Moreno reveals ex-boyfriend Marlon Brando paid to interrupt her pregnancy before it became legal

The actress recalled the scary time she almost lost her life


Senior Writer
JULY 1, 2022 10:00 AM EDT

Rita Moreno recalled the scary time she almost lost her life when her ex-boyfriend   Marlon Brando  paid a doctor to interrupt her pregnancy. The EGOT-winning actor said that now that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she is “frightened” for everyone who won’t have access to safe abortions.

The 90-year-old singer and actress told Variety that before abortion became legal when she found out, she was pregnant while dating Brando, the late actor arranged for her to see a doctor that “some friends” recommended. “He was a real doctor — Marlon paid him $500 — as opposed to something in a back alley,” she said.

© GettyImages

Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno visit on the set of the film ‘Desiree’, 1954.

After the procedure, Moreno went home and began bleeding. She rushed to the hospital and discovered that the doctor didn’t terminate the pregnancy. “I had what they told me was a ‘disturbed pregnancy,’” Moreno told the publication.

“The doctor didn’t do anything really, except make me bleed. In other words, he didn’t do it right. I didn’t know it then, but I could have died—what a mess. What a dreadful mess,” the West Side Story actor said.

The Puerto Rican star also said that the SCOTUS historic and far-reaching decision of reversing Roe v. Wade has the potential to take people “back to back alleys.”

“I’m really nervous and frightened and horrified that this is taking place,” she added. “I can’t believe that some of those people are telling us what to do with our bodies.”

Rita said she is also thinking about crime victims and minors. “I think about the young girls. Taking it to the most extreme, girls who get pregnant because of rape or incest. Unfair isn’t a strong enough word, but it’s unfair.”


© GettyImages

Abortion rights activists protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court on the last day of their term on June 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health case overturned the 50 year old Roe v Wade case and erased federal protection for abortion.

After the Supreme Court announced the reversal of the landmark decision that granted the right to abortions in every state, celebrities and public figures have shared their thoughts and reactions.

Michelle Obama shared a lengthy statement, sharing how “heartbroken” she was over the Supreme Court’s decision. “This moment is difficult, but our story does not end here. It may not feel like we are able to do much right now, but we can. And we must.”

While Kim Kardashian and her sisters shared their thoughts over social media. “In America, guns have more rights than women.” Khloé Kardashian shared posts from Planned Parenthood while Kendall Jenner shared a repost from The New York Times.