(CNN) Norman Pearlstine, the executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, revealed in a piece for the newspaper on Sunday that a college girlfriend experienced a "botched abortion" before the US Supreme Court legalized the procedure.

The veteran journalist said he and his girlfriend, whom he identifies as Charlene, were 19 years old when they sought out the procedure in the 1960s, believing they were "too immature" to be parents.

After the abortion, Pearlstine said Charlene began hemorrhaging. She underwent surgery that damaged her uterus, and she never conceived, Pearlstine said.

They did not regret their decision and Charlene remained "passionately pro-choice" for the rest of her life, he said. The two married and later divorced and Charlene died of natural causes in 2018, he said.

Pearlstine said he kept the story to himself, at times asserting "an editor's need to make 'fairness' a priority when rationalizing my silence."

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