In 1975, when he was in his late 20s and the lead singer for the band Aerosmith, Tyler persuaded the parents of his 14-year-old girlfriend, Julia Holcomb, to make him her legal guardian so that they could live together in Boston.

When Miss Holcomb and Tyler conceived a child, his longtime friend Ray Tabano convinced Tyler that abortion was the only solution. In the Aerosmith "autobiography," Walk This Way (in which recollections by all the band members, and their friends and lovers, were assembled by the author Stephen Davis), Tabano says: "So they had the abortion, and it really messed Steven up because it was a boy. He ... saw the whole thing and it [messed] him up big time."

Tyler also reflects on his abortion experience in the autobiography. "It was a big crisis. It's a major thing when you're growing something with a woman, but they convinced us that it would never work out and would ruin our lives.... You go to the doctor and they put the needle in her belly and they squeeze the stuff in and you watch. And it comes out dead. I was pretty devastated. In my mind, I'm going, Jesus, what have I done?"

Republicans on the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee passed the measure on an 8-5 party line vote Tuesday. The bill would prohibit public dollars from paying for abortions for low-income women on state-funded health care programs.

The bill also designates original jurisdiction with the state Supreme Court on any constitutional challenges. Republican Sen. Dave Thompson of Lakeville insisted that the designation is appropriate.

"The issue is does the Minnesota state Constitution require taxpayers to fund elective abortions," Thompson said. "That doesn't require fact finding. That is a legal question that can be handled by the Supreme Court without taking evidence in a district court setting."

Donna Hewetson, who also suffered ruptured kidney in her bid to bring first child Lily into the world, defied medics after enduring the agony of a miscarriage.

Mrs Hewetson, 29, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, said: 'Losing my first baby was absolutely devastating for me and my husband - and I knew with Lily, I was prepared to risk my life for her.

‘I'd always dreamed about becoming a mum, and when I finally got pregnant, there was no way I was giving up on my baby.

'It was a really frightening time - we both knew that the longer I was pregnant, the more tumours I had growing inside me - but my maternal instinct was too strong to even contemplate a termination.'

Her pregnancy caused her body to produce hormones that led her to suffer two potentially fatal conditions.

Mrs Hewetson was also diagnosed with Tuberous sclerosis, which causes benign tumours to grow on vital organs when she was just 12 weeks' pregnant.

She was also told she had Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a lung condition that affects just one in a million women, and causes the breathing organs to collapse.

But despite her own life being at risk, she was so desperate to become a mother that she was willing to risk her life.

Every day of my life I think about the women I took from. I took away their motherhood, I devalued them, I broke their confidence, I betrayed them. How I wish I could look into every one of their faces and tell them how sorry I am. If I could restore some of what I took from them, I would give my life to make it happen. I wish I could be there to wipe their tears when they mourn for their lost child. To know that you committed a terrible wrong that you can't make right is one of the most desperate feelings in the world.

And as desperate as I feel, I can't make those wishes come true. But I do my best everyday to make it up to those women and their children. I failed them once, but I won't do it again. I know they haven't forgotten their children, and I haven't either.

For the lives I have taken, 'I'm sorry' just seems hollow to even say. How do you apologize for killing thousands of children and wounding thousands of families? I'm not sure I have an answer. But I AM sorry.

I am sorry to the women I coerced into abortion. I am sorry to every woman who has ever had an abortion; you may never hear those words from the person who performed your abortion, but I want you to hear it from me on behalf of that doctor or clinic worker.

I am sorry they betrayed you. I am sorry they broke your spirit and your trust. I am sorry they hurt you. I am sorry they didn't have the courage to stand up for you and what you really deserved...a chance to be a mother to your child. We abused and disrespected you in the worst possible way I am sorry. So many people probably disappointed you... your friends, your family, your church community, your coworkers, maybe others. I apologize on behalf of them, as well. I am guilty of selling abortion to my family, friends, coworkers, and even people I worship with. We should have stood up for you and your child. I am so sorry we let you down in the worst possible way. You deserved better than what we gave you.