New York, NY — Helping to shatter the myth that Hollywood celebrities are ubiquitously pro-abortion, two high-profile women — former supermodel Kathy Ireland and Patricia Heaton, Emmy-winning actress for her role on the CBS comedy, Everybody Loves Raymond — challenged that notion by speaking openly about their pro-life views.
Ireland appeared last Monday on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes where Alan Colmes, the show's resident liberal, pressed her on the abortion issue. Here is a small excerpt of their conversation:
COLMES: We played a little clip from last time you were on the show. And I asked you if you had a liberal position. And for those who didn't see it earlier, you said yes, I'm liberal about the rights of the unborn child. Now I think I'm conservative on abortion because I think the government should not be involved. And that this is not a governmental issue. It's a personal issue. So wouldn't I then have the conservative position here?
IRELAND: Is it all right for the government to allow the murder of an innocent human being? The evidence I see tells me the unborn is a human being. From the moment of conception, a new life comes into being with a complete genetic blueprint. The sex is determined. The blood type is determined.
IRELAND: If you can, Alan, if you can show me evidence that the unborn is not a human being, I will gladly join the pro-choice side. If you can show me any evidence. It's very clear and simple. Last time I was on, you said we're not going to resolve this right now but it's very simple. The bottom line is this. If the unborn is not a human being, have as many abortions as you want, whenever you want. It doesn't matter. No justification is necessary. If, on the other hand, the unborn is a human being, no justification is adequate unless another human life, that being the mother, is in danger.
(later in the show)
HANNITY: Kathy, welcome back. Sean Hannity here. You know, since the last time you were on, we had an enormous amount of e-mail from people that were frankly shocked that somebody as famous, well known as yourself, take such a strong pro-life position. Are there more of these famous people that are just not willing to state these things publicly?
IRELAND: I know it's not a popular issue. And I was always pro- choice. I'm a person who always has and always will fight for the rights of women. And even though I became a Christian at age 18, I remained pro- choice because I believed it was a woman's choice. But the moment that I learned that the unborn was a human being, not part of the woman's body..
HANNITY: Yes.
IRELAND: …but its own individual human being, I have no choice but to defend the most vulnerable among us.
HANNITY: Well, it's admirable, because I agree with you on the position. And especially with what modern technology now offers in terms of our ability to see inside a woman's womb.
IRELAND: Absolutely.
HANNITY: And the heart beating and the fingers and the toes.
IRELAND: You really can't argue with it. Technology has come a long way since Roe vs.Wade.
And on The Factor…
Heaton, meanwhile, appeared last Tuesday on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor. Heaton came on the show to talk about her new book, Motherhood and Hollywood: How to Get a Job Like Mine, but host Bill O'Reilly quickly shifted the discussion to her pro-life views. Here is a part of their conversation:
O'REILLY: All right. A couple of interesting things in your book, and we — put it this way, ladies and gentlemen. If we have somebody on here, the book's not going to be a dog. If the book's bad, we're not going to have them on here. So you are pro-life in a town…
HEATON: That's right.
O'REILLY: … that is almost 100 percent pro-choice. How does that impact on you?
HEATON: Well, you know, I'm a chairman of Feminists for Life, and so I think that, because of that, we have an interesting stand that most people don't — haven't heard before, which is being pro-life can be a feminist issue.
The early feminists were pro-life. And really abortion is a huge disservice to women, and it hasn't been presented that way. So — so it's a — there's a sort of an in for me because of that take on it.
O'REILLY: Do you take any heat from your peers out there?
HEATON: I did. I mean, I did originally. I vote Republican because of my pro-life stance, and, of course, that was a real hot-button issue when Bill Clinton was first elected.
I mean, people really — I wore a Quayle-Bush button, and literally people would stop and look at the button the and look at me and give me dirty looks and, you know, say nasty things to me.
O'REILLY: But, still, I mean, if Susan Sarandon or Barbra Streisand were here, I mean, they wouldn't talk to you. They would turn their back on you.
HEATON: You know what? It's not that polarized. I mean, people know me first as an actress and friend.
O'REILLY: Would you ban abortion?
HEATON: As — Feminists for Life — what we're trying to do is support women, and so what we want to do is for — reach women on campus — college campuses so that, when they get pregnant, they can find housing. They can find money they need to stay in school.
O'REILLY: So you're giving — you're putting an alternative track out there.
HEATON: Yes. I think pro-choice is a ridiculous — you know…
O'REILLY: But it all comes down to… would you ban it if you were a Supreme Court justice? Would you vote to ban it?
HEATON: Yes.
O'REILLY: You would?
HEATON: Yes.
O'REILLY: OK. Now that, obviously, takes guts in Hollywood because, in Hollywood, there's a subtext that, if you don't play the game, you know, you could lose jobs.
HEATON: Yes.
O'REILLY: Did you ever think of it?
HEATON: Yes, I've thought about it. On a personal level, as a Christian, it will not be Barbra Streisand I'm standing in front of when I have to make an accounting of my life.
(This article and transcript first appeared on the Fox Network and is courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
