Academy Award-winning actor Sally Field has spoken of a “hideous” and “life-altering” abortion she underwent at age 17 as one reason she is supporting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

The Hollywood legend said she was hesitant to tell her “horrific story” but she felt that many women today were still suffering similar experiences.

Abortion has been a central issue in US politics for decades, with the Democratic Party generally in favour of legalising the procedure while Republicans oppose it.

Field revealed in a video on Instagram that months before she landed the role of Gidget in the 1960s, she had an abortion across the border in Mexico.

She had just graduated high school and had “nothing” and not much family support or money when she discovered she was pregnant.

“Luckily I had a family doctor who was a friend of the family and he drove me and his wife and my mother in their brand new Cadillac…to Tijuana,” said Field.

It was the first time she had even left the state, and they parked on a “scrungey” and scary-looking street.

The doctor handed the teenage Field an envelope with cash and told her to go into the building down the road and come straight back to him after the procedure.

“I guess he thought if I was dying, maybe he could help me,” she reflected.

Field said there was no anaesthetic, but a technician offered her a few puffs of ether which made her feel numb in the arms and legs.

The situation went from bad to worse when she realised the technician was actually molesting her.

“So I had to figure out how to make my arms move to push him away,” she said.

“So you know it was just this absolute pit of shame.”

Afterwards she was rushed out the door with “go, go, go, go, go” as though the building was on fire.

Field said a few months later, despite having not much acting experience other than at school, she began auditions and landed the role that would eventually turn her into a star.

Field became Gidget, a 15-year-old “quintessential all-American” teenager in the 60s, and it launched her six-decade acting career.

She has two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes and three Emmys among her numerous acting prizes and her most memorable movies include Steel Magnolias and Forrest Gump.

“I’ve been so hesitant to do this, to tell my horrific story,” said Field.

“It was during a time even worse than now. A time when contraception was not readily available and only if you were married.

“But I feel that so many women of my generation went through similar, traumatic events and I feel stronger when I think of them.

“I believe, like me, they must want to fight for their grandchildren and all the young women of this country.

“It’s one of the reasons why so many of us are supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”

Former president Donald Trump has previously taken credit for appointing three justices who helped to overturn the abortion rights case Roe v Wade.

The overturning of Roe v Wade resulted in bans being implemented in dozens of states despite surveys indicating that the majority of US citizens support a limited right to the procedure.

The issue could swing voters towards Harris but Trump has appeared to shift his position during his campaign, distancing himself from radical activists advocating a ban on abortion even in extreme cases of rape and incest.

Trump’s ambiguity on the topic may have alienated some of his anti-abortion supporters.

Last week his wife Melania Trump appeared to reveal her support for abortion rights in a video.

“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard without a doubt,” she said in a video posted on the social media platform X promoting her memoir.

“What does my body, my choice really mean?”

The phrase “my body, my choice” is used by advocates to defend the right to abortion, which was struck down in the US by a Supreme Court decision in 2022.

-with AAP