Chrissy Teigen rallies with Arizona to support Prop 139

If passed, Prop 139 will constitutionally protect abortion up to fetal viability in Arizona.

Chrissy Teigen—model, author, television personality, and businesswoman—came to the Valley over the weekend to share stories about abortion with Arizona women and to get out the vote for Proposition 139.

Teigen dropped by Brick Road Coffee in Tempe to speak with several women, including some who had publicly shared their abortion stories earlier this month in Phoenix, and Arizona Sen. Eva Burch (D-Mesa), who revealed her own story on the state Senate floor in March.

At the roundtable, Teigen told the crowd about her 2020 abortion, in which she lost her son, Jack. She said she’d previously referred to the lost pregnancy as a miscarriage, and only years later it occurred to her that the procedure she had was an abortion.

It was the fall of Roe v. Wade that helped her understand what was happening.

“I only really knew when the topic of Roe v. Wade was coming up,” Teigen said. “And I looked at John one day and said, ‘I can’t believe people have to go through this, I can’t imagine what that’s like.’”

Teigen said her husband, John Legend, gently pushed her to confront the reality of the partial placental abruption Teigen suffered during her 2020 pregnancy.

“He was like, ‘Yes you can…you had an abortion,’” she said. “I had obviously been feeling for people that had been in that position for so long, but just never knew it because the language wasn’t used. I was told that I was miscarrying.”

RELATED: Arizona women share riveting abortion experiences as ballots go out

During Teigen’s pregnancy for Jack, she began bleeding when the placenta detached from her uterus—a life-threatening condition for both fetus and parent. Doctors had to perform an abortion to save Teigen’s life.

Teigen said her visit to Arizona marked her first time canvassing ahead of an election.

“I’m just completely amazed by the people that are already doing this work and have been doing this work,” Teigen said, and referenced the women gathered around her. “It sucks that [celebrities] are the ones who get the attention because these are the people that are teaching me every single day.”

Teigen was in Arizona to voice her support for Proposition 139.

If passed, Prop 139 will constitutionally protect abortion up to fetal viability. Fetal viability is when a fetus can survive outside of the uterus—typically around 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

It would also prohibit penalties against health-care providers who offer abortions, and it would give them protections to do what is medically appropriate for their patients. Prop 139 would also remove current laws on the books in Arizona banning abortion, and prevent future laws that would penalize health care providers for offering or performing abortions.

Teigen said women don’t need the government making their health care decisions.

“You need to have your doctors and your family in the room with you,” Teigen said. “You don’t need this big, glaring bald eagle over your bed deciding if you’re [going] to die. It’s just so stupid and ridiculous to me.”

Her parting words included a message for Arizona voters.

“Make sure you get out there and make sure that you care,” she said. “Because the worst thing that can happen is things don’t go your way and you wish you had voted. That would be just hell.”