Cher has opened up about experiencing multiple miscarriages as a young bride.
The 76-year-old married fellow singer Sonny Bono at the age of 18, the same age she experienced one of her three miscarriages.
“When I was young I had three miscarriages,” she wrote on Twitter earlier today (19 July).
“[The] first at 18. I was alone in our house. Son [Sonny] came home and I was sobbing and rocking on our floor.
“When I got to the Dr, I was screaming in pain. Couldn’t even stop in elevator. Dr sent me straight to hospital and into operating room. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO ME TODAY,” she posited.
Her comments follow the overturning of the landmark Roe v Wade court case that affirmed the longstanding US constitutional right to abortion and a woman’s right to choose.
The US Supreme Court struck down the ruling in June, in a devastating blow to reproductive freedom.
The “Strong Enough” singer has been outspoken in her anger about the decision, tweeting last week: “Republicans are trying to make it illegal for a woman to leave her state to get an abortion. Republicans will make prisoners/chattel of American women.
“How do Republicans plan to track our sisters? Maybe they’ll inject microchips into them like they do with dogs.”
Cher had two children later in life - Chaz Bono, 53, and Elijah Blue Allman, 46 - and has previously spoken about her struggles to get pregnant and subsequent miscarriages.
“It’s a spontaneous miscarriage, something that spontaneously aborts the fetus. It’s called an angry uterus,” she told Parade magazine in 2010.
“After the third time, it got to be a nightmare. People would be congratulating me because I was pregnant, and then I wouldn’t be, and then they would be like, ‘Oh, we’re so sorry.’ I thought, ‘God, I don’t want to have to hear this anymore.’”
The “Believe” star also played the role of an abortion doctor in a pro-choice film called If These Walls Could Talk.
The 1996 film, which also starred Demi Moore and Sissy Spacek, broke new ground in its frank and nuanced portrayal of abortion.
You can contact the Miscarriage Association helpline on 01924 200799 or email the charity at info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk. The helpline is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday.
For more information, help and support regarding pregnancy loss, you can contact Tommy’s on 0800 0147 800.
