Posted on 04/16/2011 7:12:17 AM PDT by GonzoII
by Steven Ertelt | LifeNews.com | 4/14/11 1:32 PM
Actor Martin Sheen has gone against the grain of Hollywood for years with his pro-life views and, in a new interview, he talked about some of the family machinations that led him to the pro-life perspective.
Sheen is best known for his acting roles in the movies “Badlands,” “Apocalypse Now,” and “Gandhi” and for playing a liberal president in the hit television series “West Wing.”
He earned the praise of pro-life advocates in April 2004 when he backed out of being listed as an endorser for the pro-abortion march sponsored by leading abortion advocacy groups. In 2001, Sheen was listed by Feminists for Life, a pro-woman group, as a “Remarkable Pro-Life Man,” along with actor Ben Stein, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), and columnist George Will. Sheen’s wife Janet signed off on the article.
Born the seventh son of an Irish Catholic mother and a Spanish Catholic father, Martin Sheen saw three siblings come after him and later became aware that his mother’s first two children died at birth. His own birth was extremely traumatic in that neither mother nor child was expected to survive.
Sheen gave an interview to Gay Byrne on “The meaning of life with Gay Byrne.” It was released April 3 on RTÉ, the website of Ireland’s National Public Service Broadcaster. National Right to Life News editor Dave Andrusko writes about the interview:
The nearly 40-minute-long interview with the 71-year-old actor is fascinating from beginning to end, but especially (for us) when Byrne delves into Sheen’s “anti-abortion” views at the 30 minute mark.
“The liberal causes that you espouse are readily identifiable with people in the movie business, but your anti-abortion stance is very strong indeed,” Byrne says. “And tell me what you told me on the late late show in 1987 as to why that is.” From this initial question, the conversation moves in many directions.
“Well we had pregnancies with our grandsons, three specifically. And we welcomed these children and encouraged the mothers to have the children and gave them support. The lads [his sons] were not happy at the time but they came to love these children. We have three grown grandchildren, two of them are married, they’re some of the greatest source of joy in our lives.”
Byrne notes almost by way of passing that there was no “judgment” made about their children’s unmarried status at the time, to which Sheen shrugs as if to say, “why would there be?” saying simply, “no.”
Byrne traces this back to Sheen’s wife, Janet. Sheen concurs and they move into an even more personal discussion.
Sheen explains that he and his wife began to have children when they were a young married couple. When suddenly Janet discovered she was pregnant with their fourth child, she “didn’t quite know what to do.”
So, she went to a therapist who said, “Well, you have children, you have three very healthy children. How do you feel about them?” And his wife responded, “ Oh, I love them to bits.”
“Well then,” the therapist answered back, “that’s your choice, isn’t it. You know what you’re giving up.” Sheen adds, “And that was all she needed, She knew, and she had the child,” Renée , their youngest daughter.
Byrne immediately segues to something they had talked about on a previous show, evidently a long time ago. Was his wife “not born because of a rape?” Obviously uncomfortable, Sheen responded that his wife had not been pleased that he’d talked about this publicly. But Sheen nods in agreement when Byrne follows up, “so you reckon if there had been an abortion she would not exist.”
Sheen added “She even found out later that her mother really thought about dumping her in the Ohio River” after she was born. Instead she took her back to Kentucky where she was raised by two aunts, whom she loved dearly, until she was six.
A powerful, powerful pro-life testimony. I would encourage you to watch at http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1095221
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
By the way, I don't mean that they shouldn't have had the kids. Martin was totally right in encouraging them to have the children. But, to just say, hey whatever it's ok if you have kids out of wedlock, doesn't matter. Was the wrong thing to do.
Charlie is also to old to be blaming his father for any of this. Which he did on stage the other night. It's way past time for Charlie to man up.
to which Sheen shrugs as if to say, “why would there be?” saying simply, “no.”
Wow, did the interviewer misread that gesture wrong. A faithful Christian would mean “We’re talking about the kids right? What does the sinful parents behavior have to do with them?”
So what happened to him? How did he become ultraüberliberal? Maybe it was his love for the Kennedys. Maybe it was Hollywood and fame. IMDB mentions that his mother had "IRA connections," but you can find almost anything on the Internet.
IMDB also gives this quote from him: "I consider myself a liberal Democrat, but I'm against abortion." And this fact: "In 2004, he was listed as an endorser of March for Women's Lives. After learning about this, Feminists for Life, an organization that named him as a "Remarkable Pro-Life Man" in 2001, brought this to his attention, informing him that March for Women's Lives was a pro-choice group. At his request, March for Women's Lives removed his name from their list."
He was a Clown of Freedom in one of those Insight programs. A revolutionary named "Estavez" (IIRC) in some Latin American country with a dictator.
I knew he was pro-life when he acknowledged such on the Johnny Carson show many years ago. But lately I was wondering just how important life was to him when I saw him doing marches for liberal causes, but never participated in any life marches. He may be pro-life, but he certainly doesn’t seem to be an advocate for the cause as he is for other causes.
Pro-choice liberal is the default setting for 99% of Hollywood. Ho-hum. I’m stunned when some actor wanders off the reservation.
Pro-life liberal celebs that I’ve heard about:
Warren Beatty
Jack Nicholson
Martin Sheen
Patricia Heaton
(rumored) Woody Allen
You can be a republican/libertarian in Hollywood, but you have to be liberal on social issues.
Tom Selleck
John Stossel
Penn&Teller
Clint Eastwood
Shannon Doherty
James Caan
The rarest bird is a Hollywood pro-life republican. Besides Reagan, I can’t think of any.
Where would Bruce Willis fall in your list?
A weird hybrid is Jim Nabors. He's probably gay, but conservative on just about every other issue.
That’s how I saw it.
Great that he´s pro-life. Too bad he can´t get with the program.
When Kelsey Grammar started saying that he is a Republican, he couldn't trip over himself fast enough to say that he was still liberal on social issues. Same with Bo Derek.
Do you have quotes on abortion from any of the folks you list?
No, but I remember them getting interviewed , and like you said, made SURE to emphasize their social liberalism. My ears perk up when I hear someone in show biz say they are not liberal. So I pay attnetion to what they say next. Jack Nicholson, when he got his GF pregnant was asked about abortion. He said, I respect other views, I’m just against it.
Another interesting guy was Bob Crane. He was super conservative on God, country,guns,patriotism, and would often take good natured abuse from his Hogan’s Heroes co-stars about it. They were all liberals. But his son was interviewed and said his dad was “very liberal about abortion”. Not surprising.
Willis is a registered republican.
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