Comedienne Chelsea Handler has revealed she had two abortions when she was 16.

The US talk show host said she was going through a “very bad stage” in her life when she hated her parents and was having unprotected sex with her boyfriend.

In an essay for Playboy magazine, she said she initially wanted to have a baby but her parents recognised it was “ridiculous” because she could not even find her way home at night.

Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler (Rich Fury/AP)

“I felt parented, ironically, while I was getting an abortion,” Chelsea wrote. “And when it was over, I was relieved in every possible way.”

The host of Chelsea on Netflix said she fell pregnant for a second time with the same boyfriend and decided to “scrape together” 230 dollars (£175) to pay for another abortion.

“Getting unintentionally pregnant more than once is irresponsible, but it’s still necessary to make a thoughtful decision,” she wrote.

Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler (Chris Pizzello/AP)

“We all make mistakes all the time. I happened to f*** up twice at the age of 16. I’m grateful that I came to my senses and was able to get an abortion legally without risking my health or bankrupting myself or my family.

“I’m 41 now. I don’t ever look back and think, ‘God, I wish I’d had that baby’.”

Chelsea said her experience as a teenager made it “infuriating” when she heard politicians make “bogus promises” about overturning a landmark US Supreme Court ruling which legalised a woman’s right to an abortion.

Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler (Chris Pizzello/AP

“Like millions of women, I can live my life without an unplanned child born out of an unhealthy relationship because of Roe v Wade,” she wrote.

“It’s infuriating to hear politicians make bogus promises about overturning this ruling that has protected us for more than 40 years.

“Once you go forward in history, you don’t go backward. It’s okay if you think it’s not right for women to have abortions — but it’s not your problem, because we decide.”

A rally at the Supreme Court in Washington after the court struck down Texas' widely replicated regulation of abortion clinics
A rally at the Supreme Court in Washington after the court struck down Texas’ widely replicated regulation of abortion clinics (Evan Vucci/AP)

The Supreme Court issued its strongest defence of abortion rights in a quarter of a century on Monday as it struck down a Texas law that sharply reduced abortion clinics.

A majority of justices rejected the state’s arguments that its 2013 law and follow-up regulations were needed to protect women’s health.

The rules required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and forced clinics to meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery.