Music icon Cher has become well known for her irreverent and kooky Twitter presence. But in a thread posted this week, the singer got candid and vulnerable about an issue all too serious.
In a series of tweets, Cher detailed her experiences with having a series of miscarriages beginning when she was just 18 years old.
And given the Supreme Court's recent overturn of Roe v. Wade illegalizing abortion in many states—including healthcare procedures related to miscarriages—Cher wondered aloud what might have happened to her if her miscarriages happened today.
\u201cWhen I was young I had 3 miscarriages.1st at 18.I was alone in our house.son came home & I was sobbing,& rocking on our floor.when I got 2 dr I was screaming in pain.couldn\u2019t even stop in elevator.dr sent me straight 2 hospital,& in2 operating rm.WHAT WOULD HAPPEN 2 ME TODAY\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Cher (@Cher) 1658198198
In her first tweet, Cher detailed the three miscarriages she had, beginning at the age of 18.
She wrote:
"When I was young I had 3 miscarriages. 1st at 18."
"I was alone in our house. [Sonny Bono, her late former husband] came home & I was sobbing, & rocking on our floor."
"when I got 2 dr I was screaming in pain. couldn’t even stop in elevator."
"dr sent me straight 2 hospital, & in2 operating rm."
"WHAT WOULD HAPPEN 2 ME TODAY😭"
In the weeks since Roe v. Wade was overturned, people have already gotten a glimpse of what might have happened to Cher.
Medical procedures used to deal with miscarriages, such as dilation and curettage, or D&C, are also categorized as abortions.
Accordingly, patients and medical professionals have already reported scores of incidents in which life-saving medical interventions for miscarriages and other complications were denied or dangerously delayed while hospital boards and legal teams evaluate whether they can perform the procedures within the confines of the abortion ban laws.
Denying medical intervention for such conditions can result in harrowing experiences for the pregnant person like profuse bleeding and excruciating pain. It can also result in death.
As desperate circumstances begin to mount, far-right Republican state governments have begun proposing legislation to ban interstate travel and subject patients to invasive surveillance in order to keep them from obtaining abortion care in other states.
Cher also commented upon these legislative pushes, lambasting Republicans' attempts with her trademark irreverence.
\u201cREPUBLICANS ARE TRYING 2 MAKE IT ILLEGAL FOR A WOMAN 2 LEAVE HER STATE 2 GET AN ABORTION.\nREPUBLICANS WILL MAKE PRISONERS/ CHATTEL,OF AMERICAN WOMEN. HOW DO REPUBLICANS PLAN 2 TRACK OUR SISTERS \u2049\ufe0fMAYBE THEY\u2019LL INJECT MICRO CHIPS INTO THEM LIKE THEY DO WITH DOGS.\u201d— Cher (@Cher) 1657908811
She wrote:
“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."
On Twitter, many applauding Cher for speaking out and sharing her experience, and many shared similar experiences and concerns of their own.
\u201cI\u2019m as mad and incredulous as Cher.\u201d— \ud83c\udf3bGloria #Vaxxed #Masked Miele, Ph.D. \ud83d\ude37 (@\ud83c\udf3bGloria #Vaxxed #Masked Miele, Ph.D. \ud83d\ude37) 1657909073
\u201c@cher Like you, Cher, I also never imagined that the emergency D&C that saved my life in 1987 is a procedure that could easily be denied to women today. We women must vote Democratic like our lives depend upon it.\u201d— Cher (@Cher) 1658198198
\u201cListen to Cher, people. For real.\u201d— Dan Goldberg (@Dan Goldberg) 1657909225
\u201c@cher @lewing99 I would have died on 6/4/98 if I hadn\u2019t been rushed into emergency surgery, an abortion by law, for my ectopic pregnancy. My baby had no chance and I was bleeding to death. 24 years later, I have a 22 year old and some states would let her die if this happened to her. Barbaric.\u201d— Cher (@Cher) 1658198198
\u201c@cher I had an ectopic that ruptured, was v. scary, a life or death situation. Went on to have 1 healthy child followed by 2 miscarriages which included a d&c and finally a 2nd healthy child. Think that I would've died at the ectopic...,.....,...\u201d— Cher (@Cher) 1658198198
\u201c@cher I\u2019ve been pregnant 11 times - result of being trafficked. miscarriages,terminations, 2 live births. All before I hit my late 20s. And I\u2019m not the only one. Every circumstance is different and every circumstance deserves to be handled with care and respect. We deserve healthcare\u201d— Cher (@Cher) 1658198198
\u201cYou would have died in certain red states today.\u201d— Amee Vanderpool (@Amee Vanderpool) 1658233586
\u201cI had a very painful, complete, late 1st-tri miscarriage at home late at night. Called the dr but it went to voicemail. He called me back the next day and chided me for not going to the ER. If that happened now, depending on where I lived, I think I could be in deep trouble.\u201d— Stephanie Insley Hershinow (@Stephanie Insley Hershinow) 1658239636
\u201cToday, depending on the U.S. state she lived in, @Cher would be charged with murder.\u201d— Twanna A. Hines (@Twanna A. Hines) 1658238956
Thankfully, Cher's life was able to be saved and continue fighting the good fight. She was able to go to have two children as well, Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman.
@jimmyfallon/Instagram