diff --git a/Lib/asyncio/sslproto.py b/Lib/asyncio/sslproto.py
index bbf9cad6bc7f86..488e17d8bccd5b 100644
--- a/Lib/asyncio/sslproto.py
+++ b/Lib/asyncio/sslproto.py
@@ -244,7 +244,8 @@ def abort(self):
         called with None as its argument.
         """
         self._closed = True
-        self._ssl_protocol._abort()
+        if self._ssl_protocol is not None:
+            self._ssl_protocol._abort()
 
     def _force_close(self, exc):
         self._closed = True