Cheryl Burke Shares She Had an Abortion at 18

Cheryl BurkeAffirms her willingness to share about her experience with abortion.

This entry was posted on June 24, 2009 by Dancing With the Stars pro shared she had previously sought an abortion at the age of 18, saying in a three-minute Instagram video that she was “saddened” by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which established an individual’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy.

“If it wasn’t for places like Planned Parenthood, I would be a mother⁠—and I wouldn’t have been a great mother,” she began. “I had a very difficult time in my life and I got an abortion.”

Burke went on to explain that she was practicing safe sex by using birth control at the time, but “s–t happens.” 

She recalled the event, saying that she was only two weeks pregnant at the time. I can still remember walking up to Planned Parenthood surrounded by picketers with anti-abortion signs. That alone was traumatizing. It is also incredibly traumatizing.

Burke countered that she doesn’t have the right to decide what her decision was. It is not shameful.”