lucy and laura had abortions!

why I like the abortion stories in Twin Peaks (1990)

Feb 02, 2026

SPOILER ALERT: Twin Peaks Seasons 1, 2, and 3: The Return, as well as The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer.

STOP FOR PRAXIS: Donate today or tomorrow’s coffee budget, at least, to one Minnesota org on this list and your local abortion fund. I suggest this as an abortion fund worker: Our Justice RJ is on the ground, right now, funding people’s abortions and getting resources out to their community… all while under ICE occupation. If you don’t know where to throw dollars, follows, likes, whatever: throw it to them.

Story 1: Laura

When a die-hard Twin Peaks fan thinks of “the abortion,” they may think first of The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer.

The book accompaniment to the surrealist-horror television series—published alongside the show’s release in 1990—details the gritty specifics of Laura Palmer’s secret life. While Laura’s secret diary is shown in Season 2, thanks to the visionary David Lynch and Mark Frost, its namesake was actually written by Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer. The 22-year-old Jennifer Lynch “became” Laura Palmer in what was then called a “twisted variation on The Diary of Anne Frank." Fans of the show flocked to bookstores to get a deeper look into the grisly activities leading to Laura’s murder.

In its pages, “Laura Palmer” is honest about a major experience. Somewhere, in the flurry of Laura’s young life—between the first loves, teenage exploration, and yes, sexual abuse and exploitation by multiple adult men—Laura Palmer had an abortion. Laura’s retelling of this is wrapped in the same trauma and melancholy as her teenage life. She feels trapped, she feels afraid, she feels directionless, and she feels guilty. Laura, honestly, feels all the emotions that many young people do when getting an abortion they had to hide. This is the case for young people in the U.S., regardless of whether getting an abortion without parental notice is legal in their state.

Laura’s abortion seems to weigh heavily on her. This makes sense considering her age, but also her additional context of family abuse, sex work, and psychological torture at the hands of BOB. She seemed to hope that her baby would come back to her, once she was better established, and ready to have a child in a stable partnership. Laura’s abortion story is tough, heartbreaking, and very, very real. A lot of people feel complicated emotions about their abortions, even when they know the time isn’t right for them to be pregnant or start a family. Laura Palmer’s feelings around her abortion never stigmatize it, though; it just makes the depiction of her decision that much more real.

Laura Palmer’s abortion is, of course, fictional, and her abortion story was written by Ms. Lynch, who has never publicly identified herself as having had an abortion. However, Lynch herself framed The Secret Diary’s writing as a sort of cathartic exercise:

“Adolescence is just a terrifying time and I figured if there was anything I could to heal that part of myself that was convinced I was the weirdest person on Earth and that nobody else thought the way I did, I had to do it. So I wanted to fill that in and Laura was a great opportunity because she was so Americana and yet all of these awful things were happening to her. So I could go to all those dark places. It was very helpful to me.”

She continued:

“There are two moments in the diary that are from my life. One, I’ll never tell anyone, but […] I drew from my own sexual experiences, aspirations and fears because she couldn’t be me but she had to be all of us girls.” (Jennifer Lynch for VICE, 2012)

There’s something deeply touching about a young woman, close to Laura Palmer’s fictional age, writing something this emotionally complex for a character as fascinating as Laura. It’s entirely possible that Ms. Lynch supported a friend or family member through an abortion like the one she wrote for Laura. Laura’s abortion story was tough, heartbreaking, and important—especially in 1990. Despite its gravity, I am glad that Jennifer Lynch told it.

Story 2: Lucy

I am also glad for the other abortion story in Twin Peaks, which was introduced in the same episode as Laura Palmer’s secret diary. Lucy Moran, the pineapple-clipped receptionist of the Twin Peaks Sherriff Station, also has an abortion by Season 2, Episode 5—but it’s so quick, you could miss it! In this way, Lucy’s abortion couldn’t have been treated more differently from Laura’s. That only adds to my appreciation for them both.

Lucy’s abortion1 is a comedic subplot while Leland Palmer confesses to the murder-by-possession of his daughter. Given the deeply depressing end to “The Orchid’s Curse,” Lucy’s abortion is introduced then confirmed with levity. After all, the only evidence we have that it even happened is Andy’s phone call to “Lucy,” where the receiver delivers the line:

“Adam’s Abortion Clinic?”

But Lucy’s abortion is not treated with stigma, shame, or judgment. Lucy’s story is presented to viewers as a natural choice in her position; single, high-achieving, and sick of her boyfriends. Getting pregnant in Lucy’s position isn’t shown to us as a universal good or a blessing. She has doltish-but-well-meaning Deputy Andy Brennan and uppity, brutish Dick Tremayne to pick from as co-parent. Neither relationship was going well. Andy was only told of the pregnancy in a high moment for their relationship, and soon enough, she tells Dick to spite Andy. This ignites the peacocking Dick and Andy will resume for the rest of Season 2, much to my and ‘90s viewers’ chagrin. But the pregnancy itself, of course, never returns after that phone call.

In 1989 Washington, where Twin Peaks is based, Lynch and Frost’s writer’s room treated an abortion as nothing out of the ordinary. Run of the mill. Funny, even.

That’s why I love it.

Context: Abortion access in 1990

The inclusion of an abortion story, at all, in Twin Peaks was transgressive for its time. In fact, it’s still transgressive now! While Washington was a blue state and Roe vs. Wade was still federal law in 1990, the period in which Twin Peaks was created was a hostile one to abortion rights. In reaction to the progressive 60s and early 70s, the following two decades caused a severe rollback in reproductive rights. These events, unfortunately, snowballed into the current litany of barriers to abortion access across the country.

The period from 1977-1988 is considered an epidemic of anti-abortion violence in the United States. In 1982, an abortion provider, Dr. Hector Zevallos, and his wife Rosalee were kidnapped and held hostage for eight days. In 1984, domestic terrorists would set a bomb at the National Abortion Federation headquarters. One abortion clinic in Alabama faced physical assault against the women on staff, while another had equipment destroyed—all in that same year. Finally, by 1989, the Supreme Court followed the trend spanning the country. In passing Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, individual states were federally allowed to restrict abortion access, however they saw fit. Roe vs. Wade was weaker than ever, and seeking care at an abortion clinic resulted in consistent harassment from emboldened clinic ~~protesters~~ harassers.

In 1990, Twin Peaks premiered to an audience of 33 million. Only six months after the Season 2 finale, two people would be shot for seeking care at a Springfield, Missouri abortion clinic. By 1993, three abortion providers would be shot in acts of anti-abortion violence. This is the political environment in which David Lynch and Mark Frost presented these abortion stories to the public.

While Laura and Lucy’s stories could have become “Very Special Episodes,” stigma-filled stereotypes, or inaccurate representations, Twin Peaks’ abortion stories are both very real. For one, quite ordinary. For the other, a privately-kept truth, only revealed to the readers willing to delve deeper. Both abortion stories, however, were treated as natural decisions considering both characters’ contexts. Neither were judged. That’s exactly how most real-life abortion stories go. It’s not always Obvious Child, but it’s also not always Grey’s Anatomy. There as many possibilities as there are abortion seekers: that is to say, there are a lot.

In my time working for abortion funds and with abortion seekers, I’ve gotten a close look at what an actual abortion is like. I can tell you the literal step-by-step—though you can just find that here and here—but, more pertinent to this conversation, I can tell you the contexts and emotions that typically come with having an abortion. The answer is simple: All of them. Someone who seeks help from an abortion fund or clinic is just as likely to be a Lucy as they are to be a Laura (and actually, if we want to look at polling, it’s way more likely to be a Lucy).

Abortion isn’t always tragic, and abortion also isn’t always no big deal. Abortion is a decision made as the result of one’s circumstances, their desires, and their hopes for their future. In the same way that Lucy wanted a kid with a better Andy—which she’d end up doing in The Return—lots of abortion-seekers just don’t want to have a kid with this guy. Or they don’t want to have a kid right now. Or even, they don’t want to be pregnant right now. Maybe they have other priorities, or complicating circumstances, or maybe it’s just not the time right now. All of those possibilities are not only okay, but very, very normal.

While we got a peek into Laura’s world with The Secret Diary, we’ll never know Lucy’s personal narrative around her abortion. We also don’t need to know it. All we know is that she got the care she needed at Adam’s Abortion Clinic, and got to have Wally with Andy, like she wanted, later on. Lucy is like many people who have abortions, in that way; her abortion allowed her to grow her family—when she wanted, and with whom she wanted. Because of Adam’s Abortion Clinic, Lucy didn’t have to stay with a Dick (literally). That’s what Laura wanted too, after her abortion. In the timeline where she lived beyond her teen years, I hope she got that.

Destigmatizing Abortion, ‘Making Revolution Irresistible’

As artists, David Lynch, Mark Frost, and Jennifer Lynch have a role in the greater struggle for rights, access, and liberation. So did Kimmy Robertson and Sheryl Lee. In the words of author and filmmaker, Toni Cade Bambera: “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” While an abortion plotline on Twin Peaks isn’t really organizing against the ruling class, destigmatizing abortion made a tangible difference in abortion-seekers’ lives in 1990. It still makes a difference today: that’s why looking to media archives for abortion stories is so necessary.

In our current, even-worse time for abortion rights in the U.S., we writers and artists must consider how previous generations responded to attacks on our access. In the early ‘90s, it was alternative artists like Nirvana, Hole, and L7 who performed at Rock for Choice: the fundraiser concert series held between 1991-2001. It was outspoken women like Sinéad O’Connor, Whoopi Goldberg, and Stevie Nicks who went public with their abortion stories. It has always been artists—especially those from marginalized communities and alternative subcultures—who bring the masses to issues like abortion access and reproductive justice.

I see Twin Peaks, considering its time and its popular appeal, as one of those pieces of art. An abortion can mean everything, or it could mean nothing at all. I appreciate all the artists part of bringing that duality to screens.

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