I went into Jeremy Irons’ Guardian interview only having read one quote, the quote about abortion. I thought I would just read the piece and pull the abortion-quote-block for context. But I can’t. Because this interview is BONKERS. While I definitely think Jeremy Irons is eccentric in a vastly terrible way – think of his comments on incest and gay marriage several years ago, or his thoughts on sexual harassment – I also sort of have to give him credit for putting it all out there. Most celebrities/actors would have some sense of self-awareness that their thoughts are terrible and should never be spoken out loud, especially to the Guardian. Irons does not have that sense of self-awareness, so at least we can openly discuss his on-the-record comments. You can read his full Guardian interview here. Some highlights:
On his six homes & a castle: “I have developed a life which seems to need a relatively high income.”
Marriage & Christianity: “Our society is based on a Christian structure. If you take those religious tenets away, then anything goes and it will become terrible – and you usually get into trouble. Adultery might be very nice, but finally it f–ks us up. And it f–ks up the structure of society. We don’t steal – well, some people do – because it makes life intolerable for everybody. Yes, you can be in love and raise a family wonderfully by not being married, but actually marriage does give us a strength, because it’s quite hard to get out of, and so it makes us fight more to keep it together. If divorce becomes dead easy – which it sort of has – then we don’t have that backup. Because, for everybody, relationships are hard.”
Abortion harms women: “Take abortion. I believe women should be allowed to make the decision, but I also think the church is right to say it’s a sin. Because sin is actions that harm us. Lying harms us. Abortion harms a woman – it’s a tremendous mental attack, and physical, sometimes. But we seem to get that muddled. In a way, thank God the Catholic church does say we won’t allow it, because otherwise nobody’s saying that it’s a sin.”
On Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: “I think he might be the death knell. I love his idealism, but he’s not what I would call a politician. I think the Labour party is no longer fit for purpose. What we very, very, very strongly need is a not a party that represents the labour movement, but everyone who doesn’t like that we are governed, in effect, by global economics. We have to find an intelligent alternative to the Conservative ethos.”
He doesn’t believe in interventionism. “It’s like genetic engineering. Everything is held in balance, whether good or not, by diverse internal forces. Syria deals with the opposition with great cruelty, but there are cruel people, as one sees from Isis, and you’re not going to remove that part of nature from those fanatics at that stage of their civilising development. Yet everybody – especially the Americans – seems to think the only way of life is theirs. Democracy? What the f–k does that mean? Freedom? What the f–k does that mean?”
The US election: “[It signals] maybe the end of democracy. If democracy has become a gameshow where you vote for the one who makes you laugh most, or whatever, then we’re not worthy to have the vote”.
There’s a lot to unpack and I’m not going to go beat by beat with Jeremy Irons. Let me just say that while I appreciate that he identifies as pro-choice, I do not appreciate that he uses the language of anti-choice advocates. If a woman feels psychological or even physical pain because of her abortion, the decision is still HER CHOICE. If a woman wants to say abortion is a sin, that is her choice too. But no man or woman gets to decide for all women what is and is not a “sin.” And let me tell you, the psychological and physical pain would be even more profound if the state forced women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Yeah, I don’t need anyone mansplaining to me what women go through when they have an abortion, thanks. And it’s hardly an across-the-board-identical experience for every woman, anyhow.
This though. I was trying to think of how to articulate the fact that I find it patronizing as f*ck when men talk about what abortion does to a woman.
But you said it perfectly.
.
You took the words right out of my mouth. I really don’t need to hear Jeremy Irons’ thoughts on pretty much anything.
Agree with all of you.
I agree, and its always men running there mouths about it!!!!
That’s not true. A couple of friends in high school had abortions and they dealt with them in a mature and thoughtful way. They were regretful of course but because of the decision they made, they were able to go on to college and careers and have families now many years later. What does this know it all know about it? Talk is cheap and everyone is different.
agree…
also, this…
” If you take those religious tenets away, then anything goes and it will become terrible”
so, he’s saying that, without religion, we’d all be a bunch of criminals? though I identify as a Recovering Catholic, I find that really insulting on behalf of my atheist friends. you DO NOT need religion or G-d to be a good person and have morals.
jeez Jeremy…how does “get bent.” sound to you?
Said the same below about his stupid idea that it’s only Christians who oppose murder. What a douche.
Get bent, indeed.
Truth. It’s called Humanism, and I have family who identify as such. The idea is basically that we don’t know what awaits us after death, but life here on Earth is much better if we cooperate and observe certain rules. Essentially the Golden Rule in practice. Works for me. I don’t require the threat of punishment or the lure of reward in the great beyond to be kind to others and to do my best not to hurt anyone.
“I don’t require the threat of punishment or the lure of reward in the great beyond to be kind to others and to do my best not to hurt anyone. ”
perfectly stated, thank you!
This! So tired of the ‘without us and our ancient book, everybody would be acting like amoral madmen” argument.
I agree 100%! it never seams to amaze me that’s these people who believe in an imaginary being in the sky and the ground when they get caught they say “the devil made me do it” no no there is no devil!!! Jeremy irons is a has been that never was he needs to keep his mouth shut and go back under his rock and stay there!!!!
doofus, don’t want to act stalkerish after our chat yesterday, but you are my spirit animal! I also am an ex Catholic, I got castigated on here a while ago for saying that, and some very informed person told me I was attacking other people’s beliefs! I nearly wept with laughter. I am very proudly and flag wavingly OVER that hideously repressive, misogynistic institution. They are no better than whited sepulchres, and how dare they presume to tell a woman how to live her life. I love the old expression, no uterus, no opinion!
I hate that assumption that if you aren’t religious than you don’t know right from wrong, or have good values/morals. There are a heck of a lot of people who are extremely religious that are pretty hateful and evil imo! And as for abortion being a “tremendous mental attack”…I think rape, for instance, is a tremendous mental attack, especially if you conceive through rape or sexual assault or incest! And for some people, being pregnant at certain points of their lives is akin to horrible mental anguish and stress. He has no idea what that might be like…but then a lot of these people have no ability to actually imagine themselves in someone else’s shoes.
Could we also point out to Mr. Irons that sexual abuse/molestation is also a sin, and his Catholic buddies have been accused and settled thousands of court cases against this disgusting act. To add insult, they have been able to maintain their posts.
Those in glass homes should not throw stones.
It’s like Catylnn Jenner coming out last week declaring that Hillary Clinton doesn’t care about women. She has been a woman for a year. Before that, she was a Caucasian man.
Wish someone could forward all of the above comments to a-hole.
While I do not think much of him or his idea, he is right on one point. Religion (all religions) have always been use as a code of conduct witch, like the laws made the rules of a society.
I’ll say it again. I had an abortion. It was not a negative experience for me. I was not attacked, mentally or physically. I do not suffer from telling you guys about it. Being able to choose to have an abortion is something positive that happened in my life. I do not need a tragic backstory to justify having had an abortion. This does not detract from, or indeed have anything to with, women whose experience of abortion was traumatic and negative. These women have my support and love in sisterhood.
Jeremy, on the other hand, can fork the fork off.
I’ve had an abortion as well, and the only feeling I felt was thankful. No, I didn’t feel guilty because I knew that my decision would have saved my life from a bleak future. Nobody has the right to interfere with your body. Your body is your business, it belongs to you. I made the correct choice for me and I will defend to the death a women’s right to choice.
My highest praise to you both, Sixer and aims. Thank you!
I’m with you. I had one, and not as a teen, but at the age of 27…birth control failure. It was complicated by the fact that I had severe HG, was hospitalized while waiting to see the best OB who performed abortions, and that at that time, (mid ’80’s) in Ontario, Canada, it first had to be approved by a 3-member panel of doctors (all male) who deemed it necessary for the well-being of the applicant.
Luckily, this doctor was on the panel, & assured me that he would get me approved. He was an older man, and my heart sank when I first saw him, because I thought he was probably of a very conservative mindset. Instead, was an absolute defender of womens’ right to choose. It’s a terrible feeling to have your future & body in someone else’s hands. I was so grateful for the care I received, and I never regretted it. I went on to have a beautiful girl, later.
I really appreciate the honesty here and I like to get views from women who have had to make that decision. I’ve never had one, but I’ve definitely had scares where I have thought if I was indeed pregnant that it would be best not to have the child.
I’ve had an abortion and it fucked me up inside. Like really badly. It took me 3 years to finally come to terms with it. But it was MY decision and if I had to go back in time, knowing what i know now, I would make the same choice. My life, my body, my heart, my soul, my choice. No one escapes life without pain and we all have to walk through the fire sometime.
I had one too, ladies. The only distress I ever experienced about it is when people I told would try to tell me how I should feel. Someone even argued with me that I was suppressing my emotions, seriously. I eventually realised that in their small minds, the fact that I hadnt suffered meant I hadnt been punished.
Thats why people like this moron work so hard to keep the stigma alive, it forces the women into guilt and shame for making a perfectly sensible choice and punishes them when the law wont.
thank you all SO MUCH for sharing your stories.
I have too. I don’t owe anyone an explanation as to why but it was 100% the right decision for me and my life. I do not consider myself “harmed” in any way. I have not told many about it because I don’t want to deal with them asking why. I’m not afraid of being shamed or judged, it’s just one of those deeply personal things that doesn’t need to be explained to anyone. Just like I’m not going to detail my gastrointestinal workings or sexual experiences to others. Not anyone’s business.
Jeremy Irons is an idiot and, alas not uncommonly, assuming a lot about an experience he has never and will never have. Those, of course, are the very easiest to pass judgment on.
I’ve had one too. I was 21 and in college. It was very early but the minute I realized I was pregnant I made an appointment. I have never regretted my choice. What I have regretted is getting pregnant to begin with by my own irresponsibility and not having the gumption to force a condom on my partner. I have gone on to have 2 beautiful children with my husband and I’m pregnant with our 3rd and last now. There is no right or uniform way to feel afterwards.
You all show the vast diversity of experiences that encompass abortion. Thank you for your honestly. Truly. I wish there was more open talk about it. I personally hate the idea of abortion and would prefer we made it an unnecessary choice but I would NEVER presume to take the right to choose away from another woman. I firmly believe women should have agency over their own bodies.
Me too. It was emotional, but not traumatic, it was not painful, it was relief from severe stress and an unworkable situation.
I had one. And I was completely destroyed by it. I’m still pro choice but it ruined my life. Sobbing, panic attacks, feelings of absolute horror. I tried therapy and medication and time and it never went away. And I had several “valid” reasons for it, too. It affects different people differently. Again, I’m not going to shut down anyone’s access, but yes there are indeed people like me who were destroyed and traumatized by it. I am able to not think of it every day now, but I am still hit by crying spells and occasional nightmares and panic attacks late at night.
It might be more traumatic for some, mentally and physically, to give birth and have to raise an unwanted child.
I have also had an abortion. It was an easy decision for me to make, and I’ve suffered no trauma from it. I also know women who have had abortions and who have found the decision painful or who regretted it afterwards. I sometimes sigh that we still need to have this conversation, even though I applaud you for starting it. We don’t go through this kind of handwringing about the millions of other decisions people make in their lives that can result in relief, or regret, or some set of feelings in between.
PinaColada, I’m so sorry you’ve suffered so much. I really hope you can eventually find some peace.
Had one as well. In my thirties. A couple of years after becoming a single mom because her father descended into drug usage and psychosis. I had a fun fling, bc failed and I was pg with a 2 year old. I am and was and always will be grateful to the Angels at Planned Parenthood who freed me from what I intimately (and recently) knew to be a hellish future, raising a child by myself, without support. Physically it was a three weeks long period. No pain. No trauma. I want all women to have that information.
I was going to have an abortion (before I miscarried). Birth control failure after 15 years in a monogamous relationship (married 10 years) and two kids. It happens! I was very conflicted about it and very sad, but ultimately, it was an easy decision because I knew absolutely that I could NOT go through another pregnancy and I could NOT bring another child into our family. It would have definitely traumatized us if we had to abort a child, but it would have been the right thing to do for my mental wellbeing. No, I did not want to actually have the baby and give him/her to another family, never to know if that baby was being treated well. At the time, although it was extremely hard, I was grateful EVERY SINGLE SECOND for the right to choose the destiny of my own body and my own children. I couldn’t imagine how traumatic it would be if I didn’t have that choice.
No one knows if there is a God or is not a God. The only thing we all know is everyone who has posted on this celebrity gossip web site will one day die and start decaying before burial or cremation. That’s certain 100% guarantee.
Sixer
I thank you for sharing your experience
And I applaud any and all women who have had abortions because it was their choice to make
I was raped but did not get pregnant
However
I took the morning after pill
This was back in the day
And I was NOT READY TO HAVE A BABY
Eventually I had a baby then 2 miscarriages then another baby (a HUGE boy in January) and I feel blessed
I’m pro choice and pro abortion
Baby, please be respectful of these women who bravely shared their stories. Please also consult science as your references are untrue and detrimental to women who would like to continue to have the right to choose.
To the ladies above that have shared your experiences I want to thank you. I have never had to experience an abortion but I will never stop supporting the right to make that choice for yourself. Those that spew hate about it need to realize it does not affect them and it’s none of their business. Positive vibes to all of you. Thank you!
I’m not sure how a (male) friend and I even got on the topic of abortion and I casually mentioned that I’ve had one and his response was “I am so sad for you.” He could never really articulate WHY he was so sad for me, not that I needed/wanted him to be sad for me and he acted so weird and sad around me for weeks afterward.
If he is anything like the men I have encountered, he was sad because the value of your existence lies in your uterus. In chosing to terminate you were also rejecting the sole meaning of your life. Theres no reason why you shouldnt have beeen immediately dispatched to the glue factory like an old lame horse.
Another explanation is that he has been taught that you SHOULD be sad, harmed, unhappy, regretful, shattered, or any number of negative emotions about the experience. Since you weren’t, he was extremely confused. Imagine if a duck could speak and told you it didn’t like water. That would go against everything you’ve been taught about ducks since childhood. How would you take that? Likely your first response would be disbelief and protest.
Since it’s a decision men will never have to face, they tend to think about it in the abstract and easily fall in with what they are conditioned to think about it. Add in the fact that few people are good at difficult conversations and you get a lot of nonsense like that.
What about the rights of the innocent unborn child you have heartlessly murdered??!! You take away Their right to go on living simply because they dont have a voice?!! How convenient for you! All you care about is your own rights. A baby develops a heart beat by 5 weeks. They can feel pain by the time abortions are done. You decide they are not ‘real babies’ and that its ‘ok to kill them’ just becuase they are early in their development. You determine their worthiness of life on whether they are “wanted” or not? How is it that a parent can fight for the life of a premature 23 week infant, but at the same time another parent can terminate their unborn babies life at the same age?? You are all selfish disgusting baby killing witches. Shame on you.
The one thing I’ll say is that a lot of women my age have been told that abortion is “no big deal” and therefore don’t have the psychological preparation that they might need. Some women have an experience like Sixer. But that’s not true for everyone. I have a very liberal friend who was very cavalier about getting one and now is racked with guilt and regret. Perhaps regret is the wrong word, because I don’t think she regrets the decision per se, but she definitely had an emotional response she did not expect. I don’t even like drinking with her anymore because it will inevitably come up. What’s most frustrating is that she won’t seek therapy because she somehow thinks that it is betraying her political beliefs. Not that this justifies Jeremy Irons, but I do think the “it was half an hour during my lunch break” description of abortion is just as incorrect as “it’s a horrible sin that will mess up society forever” one.
I think a lot of advocates for ALL causes these days (abortion rights, gun rights, whatever cause you can think of) push a “our cause is 100% justified and awesome, what we do or endorse has no ill effects”. There’s no room for any shades of nuance, no room for mixed feelings and lots of “STFU” when anyone expresses misgivings or just ambivalence about the issue in question.
This is sad that your friend feels like she can’t get the help she needs. Abortion is certainly a different experience for everyone. I’m sure it would be difficult to reconcile feelings of both guilt and relief. It makes me sad that society can’t be more supportive to women and their choices. Hubby & I have had discussions about abortion (we’re both pro choice) & what a shame it is that we can’t all come together & find real solutions to help prevent more unplanned pregnancies. I don’t think anyone would disagree with the statement “wouldn’t it be nice if the need for abortions were lower”.
How sad for your friend, vilebody. Wish her well from me.
This range of experience is exactly why we need extensive and supportive abortion services available to all women, free of charge, so every pregnant woman can make an informed decision, free from judgement, and go on with their lives with full support for any repercussions from whatever choice it is that they eventually make. Even if not everyone will suffer repercussions or need any support – like me.
@Sixer. My friend fortunately has the ability to get therapy, it’s more that she won’t go, partly because she believes doing so would give credence arguments (like Jeremy Iron’s) that it’s traumatic. I know that your experience was very different, but do you have any suggestions? I’ve tried so many different ways to convince her that being pro-choice and recognizing that abortion can be emotionally difficult are not mutually exclusive, but nothing has seemed to stick. Also, thanks to everyone for your kind words.
I think everything to do with reproduction can be surprisingly emotional: choosing to have babies, not have babies, whatever. Maybe if she talked to other women about it, she’d realize how wide the range of emotions can be for everyone.
vilebody – I think you should probably just try to build up her confidence in herself and her right to her own agency generally. It seems to me that abortion was a bad or even more bad choice for your friend personally. If there had been a good choice in front of her, she would have made it. But there wasn’t. It’s natural to be griefstricken if your choices, for you yourself, are only between gradations of bad.
It was so different for me because I never saw it as anything but a GOOD choice, beneficial to me and my family and not any kind of a loss or bereavement. But if your friend feels bereaved, then she IS bereaved. And bereavement is painful. It’s not a failure on her part. Therapy can help therefore she should try it. Jeremy and his ilk are just irrelevant to her making a new choice – deal with feelings or don’t deal with feelings. This time, she HAS got a positive option in front of her, you know?
ETA: on a related note of feelings: my mum died a couple of years ago this weekend. I was devastated. I still cry with missing her at least once a week and it’s as overwhelmingly awful today as it was when she died. I’m probably over-grieving but I can’t help it. And I’m certainly not going to avoid relying on Mr Sixer, and my aunts and cousins for support, and on my doctor too, if I need him. Because what hurts us, hurts us. No shame in it.
I’m very sorry for your friend and I hope she finds a way to make peace with herself. Any medical procedure can be emotionally difficult, something that isn’t often talked about. It’s not exclusive to abortion. Medical decisions aren’t always easy and expecting them to be so sets us up for further hardship. But being wrong about that isn’t shameful and doesn’t mean someone else was “right”.
I have a friend who had a similar experience. She had an abortion in her early 20s and it really put her in a depression for many months after that. Many years later, she still feels quite tortured about it. She has since had a daughter when she was ready and is a loving and caring mom.
Abortion can really be a very difficult procedure to have emotionally for I think quite a few women. But having said that, no woman I know would ever want that choice to be taken away from them. My friend was sad but it was a decision she never regretted making.
Yeah, he can get back to me when he is pregnant. Until then, STFU.
THIS.
Yes I agree its a personal choice and for unaffected men especially to STFU. Its hard enough to make the decision without this type of judgement. Bravo to all the women who are brave no matter what they decide for themselves!
I didn’t understand what he was saying. Before I clicked on the article, I thought he was going to say that abortion was mentally traumatic as a psychological event. But his quote seems to talk about the act of abortion being traumatic because it’s a sin. And sin is what ultimately mentally harms us (like lying). And that the Catholic church should classify it as a sin, because if they didn’t then it wouldn’t be a sin. If I were a teacher, I’d give him a D for oral argumentation…the only reason I’m not giving an F is because he “attempted” the assignment…
He’s basically saying “I’m pro-choice, but thank God we have the Catholic Church to shame those women into feeling guilt. Because if we didn’t, they wouldn’t know how awful they should feel. Also, it’s bad because they feel awful afterwards.” It’s a bizarre circular argument. He’s so opinionated, but he hasn’t come to those opinions thoughtfully at all.
Childbirth harmed me. It was a tremendous mental attack.
Seriously! Why does nobody talk about that? Childbirth is some serious shizz.
I’m sorry to hear that, Greenieweenie. Would you mind elaborating? I’ve never had children, but I’m intensely curious about what it is like. Reading people’s stories online, it seems like the negative stories about childbirth are buried and the “It was the most amazing experience of my life!!!!!111” ones are pushed forward – kind of the opposite of abortion stories, in a way.
Nymeria – my first was a c-section. I am blood and surgery phobic, so you can imagine the mind-cluck of everyone around me telling me to just be happy! you’re having a baby! The anesthesia didn’t work – no pain, but total sensation – and that sensation of all that yanking and pressing…. Ugh. My second was a VBAC, and it was the hardest easy thing I have ever done, but of course you don’t know in advance how a birth will proceed. It was the entire pregnancy of worrying which way, will we both be okay? I will say that the rush of hormones I had with the vaginal birth, even blunted by the epidural, really made that birth a ton easier.
It’s such a short but such a weighty experience. And it can get so dicey and go so terribly wrong for some women. You know you’re so close to the veil with new lfe so close and death not terribly far away.
@Nymeria, I had an awful, complex, traumatic birth. My complication made my labor insane, my forceps delivery did some brutal damage, and throughout my pain was ignored (this was just…the worst. I genuinely felt close to death). Technically, I can conceive again but I won’t because mentally and emotionally (to say nothing of physically), it was way too damaging. And my partner refuses, so I also lost the ability to make a choice that physically I should have had.
I had a (hidden) placental abruption, if you’d like to Google the joy of what that does to your labor. I am definitely a minority experience but nobody is exempt from that possibility. No family history, excellent physical health, etc.
But sure, okay Jeremy Irons, I’m sure the morning-after pill is an equivalent trauma.
Word. I’m one of those who would’ve died in childbirth. I had terrible lacerations (level 4) that bisected two muscles. I had severe nerve damage. The forceps tore up my daughter’s face – she’s fine now, but she couldn’t be snuggled or breastfed in early days because of all the cuts on her face – it was horrendous.
I still have lasting health problems, and my daughter was so big that it accelerated the decline in my lower spine.
In short: It tore my body up and it damaged my ability to bond with my infant.
It didn’t help that everyone wanted to congratulate me and see me being happy when all I was…was traumatized. Everyone wanted me to be up and around and smiling, but I wasn’t supposed to even walk. I was coached and scolded for not doing housework and boiling bottles and all that…and I was healing from serious internal injuries while caring for a baby who had some injuries. It was madness. My husband was the ONLY one who treated me with kindness and service and realism. The women on both sides of the family were unintentionally horrible about it all.
I have no “regrets,” but I’m a crusader against the idea that new mothers have to act happy about it. I didn’t feel maternal love for my kid when they handed her to me. There certainly weren’t any waves of euphoric mother love. And I couldn’t breastfeed, and everyone had a list of reasons that was my fault.
Oh my God…child birth sucks. Being a mom is awesome. Giving birth sucks, though, and the way people treat pregnant and new moms is really disordered.
Exactly. I cannot take seriously someone who a.) is not, and never has been a woman, b.) is not, never has been, and never will be pregnant and will never have to deal with this kind of decision (or the ramifications of the things that go wrong when a society attempts to prevent women and girls from being able to make these decisions. Especially for those who aren’t wealthy) or c.) is clearly coming from a place of having a religious agenda lecturing women on how freedom and rights are ‘harmful’ to them. Of course he thinks it’s harmful- it violates the rules of his religion.
Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories! I especially appreciate the acknowledgement that childbirth can be traumatic. Many women are forced into c-sections that aren’t medically necessary, and even many women who legitimately need them have trouble coming to terms with that method of childbirth. For me, my anesthesia failed during my last c-section and no one did anything about it. It was incredibly traumatic. As much as abortion is discussed, people tend to overlook that pregnancy and childbirth can also be dangerous for women, both physically and psychologically. Whether you believe it’s a sin to terminate or not (and I don’t), I think you also have to acknowledge that it is also a sin to force women to put their bodies through the trauma of childbirth and pregnancy against their will. Also, fuck Jeremy Irons.
Will he shut the *^%# up about women’s bodies. HE DOESN’T HAVE ONE. I’ve had an abortion. I thank God everyday. It was a blessing for me. We all make the choice and we all live with it. Don’t abort if you have doubts, or let someone pressure you. But it’s about women only. These old white men need to get another bone to chew.
This may get buried but here goes. I live in Ireland, I had an abortion, six months after Savita Halapannaver died. I have gynecological problems which means I am 99% likely to have a miscarriage, we were using three different types of contraceptive because apparently I’m also incredibly effing fertile. I got pregnant regardless, myself, my husband and my parents all traveled to the UK, because no abortion in Ireland unless risk of death, immediate risk of death. How does a doctor quantify that? Savita was told she couldn’t have an abortion, even though she was miscarrying because there was still a foetal heartbeat. She died of sepsis. I didn’t want to risk that.
I have spoken publicly and been called a murderer and harassed. I had to change my phone number and move out of my area. But the only regret I have about my abortion is that my country forced me to travel to a different country. I have no other regrets, I was possibly saving my life, and saving my loved ones from the grief of losing me. And I will never apologise or let anyone make me feel ‘less than’ for doing that!
If the pro-life people understood a few simple facts of life it would end the abortion battle.
We are spirit, or soul if you prefer that word, created by God and given eternal life. You cannot kill, murder, or destroy what God created.
We put on a body to experience life in the physical world. We are not this body, it is simply part of our experience here. Clearly, the body can be destroyed.
When a woman has an abortion she did not “murder” a baby. She eliminated a body for that spirit to inhabit. That spirit is not murdered. It simply chooses another set of parents who will then create it’s body.
If women understood these basic spiritual facts there would be no need for guilt or shame about a very private matter, which is no one’s business but hers.
I’m pretty sure continuing a pregnancy knowing that my child had an anomaly pretty much incompatible with life and then watching it suffer during it’s very short lifespan would have done some serious & potentially irreparable harm to me. My abortion, on the other hand, did not do any harm to me because I made the decision of my own volition and thanks to Roe v Wade, I was empowered to make that decision. I regret that I was unfortunate to be in a position in which I had to make the decision but I do not regret the decision as it wasn’t just the right one, it was the kindest & most humane one.
I wish the vote was about who was making them laugh the most rather than rapidly increasing conservatism and hate and fear and some “politicians” playing into it. Then it would have been easier to stomach.
Dont get me started on the rest of what he said…
This is the same guy who equated gay marriage with father/son incest so he take take alllllll of the seats.
Personally I’d say forced birth would be more stressful but what do I know? I’ve only given birth myself.
No woman should have to be pregnant against her own will. Period.
I can’t even imagine how horrifically traumatizing a forced pregnancy and birth would be. Even very much wanted pregnancies can be traumatizing.
My pregnancy was one long horrible nightmare, and I deeply wanted my kid. The birth was even worse! Talk about being under attack! The only reason I was OK with enduring all that was because I really wanted a kid, and I’m totally in love with her.
Oh, but I’m sure that mansplaining concern trolls don’t want to protect us from the trauma of pregnancy and birth.
I would be even madder, if it weren’t for the fact that Jeremy Irons is a total airhead.
What about the rights of the innocent unborn child you have heartlessly murdered??!! You take away Their right to go on living simply because they dont have a voice?!! How convenient for you! All you care about is your own rights. A baby develops a heart beat by 5 weeks. They can feel pain by the time abortions are done. You decide they are not ‘real babies’ and that its ‘ok to kill them’ just becuase they are early in their development. You determine their worthiness of life on whether they are “wanted” or not? How is it that a parent can fight for the life of a premature 23 week infant, but at the same time another parent can terminate their unborn babies life at the same age?? You are all selfish disgusting baby killing witches. Shame on you.
Soproficat, so true. I’ve had two kids and I told my husband that there is NO WAY IN HELL I’m going through another pregnancy. I love my kids, but if we ever want more, we are adopting. For some women, pregnancy is beautiful and wonderful, and for some, it’s 8/9 months of daily physical and mental suffering that can take years to recover from.
Has he always been so word salad-y? The interview was just a bunch of religious ramblings and old man sanctimony.
It was truly all over the place.
I was wondering the same thing. I never realize he was such a jerk before. Thanks for ruining the Lion King for me, jerk face!
Yeah, I thought he was really inarticulate. I get that he was trying for something “nuanced,” but the way he presented his argument was hard for me to understand.
No pictures of Smudge?
He does make it clear that he doesn’t favor imposing his personal view on others, unlike some of our current presidential candidates. His views may be extreme but he isn’t insisting that everyone else be forced to follow them.
Regarding abortion, I wouldn’t even call his views that extreme at least as he expresses them here. He wouldn’t deprive a person of choice, but seems to think that it’s not a good experience for a woman to go through. Women I’ve known who had abortions and expressed their thoughts on the matter have said much the same thing: they’re glad they had the choice but wished they could’ve avoided being in the situation altogether. And one friend told me that she deeply, deeply regrets having an abortion (yet is still pro-choice, ftr. My heart breaks for her.)
Yeah, I have no problem with what he said here. I had an abortion, and the actual abortion wasn’t at all traumatic, but finding out I was pregnant and organising the procedure was stressful, physically it was pretty uncomfortable and unpleasant, and while I certainly don’t regret having the abortion, I obviously would have very much preferred not to need one.
I don’t care what anyone thinks about abortion so long as they keep it as a thought, and don’t take action to impose their thoughts on other people.
Exactly! I had an abortion when in college and all I can say is that it was not a pleasant experience but I don’t regret having it, I’m greateful it was safe and legal and very early in the pregnancy. What I regret is getting into this situation in the first place – I was just stupid and irresponsible. A few years later I married and had much wanted kids. I have no trauma or remorse over it, it happened. I think that most women who experience trauma and depression are being told they should feel guilty.
It was unpleasant but for me the worst part was the time between the positive preg test and scheduling the appointment. Once I’d gotten over the initial shock, processed the information, made my decision and scheduled the appointment, I felt much better. The actual physical experience wasn’t fun but it wasn’t traumatizing. Afterwards I felt so relieved. No it wasn’t pleasant or easy. But neither was having my wisdom teeth out and nobody ever goes on and on about that.
What about the rights of the innocent unborn child you have heartlessly murdered??!! You take away Their right to go on living simply because they dont have a voice?!! How convenient for you! All you care about is your own rights. A baby develops a heart beat by 5 weeks. They can feel pain by the time abortions are done. You decide they are not ‘real babies’ and that its ‘ok to kill them’ just becuase they are early in their development. You determine their worthiness of life on whether they are “wanted” or not? How is it that a parent can fight for the life of a premature 23 week infant, but at the same time another parent can terminate their unborn babies life at the same age?? You are all selfish disgusting baby killing witches. Shame on you.
I agree. It’s just his opinion. I’m not taking it personally.
Hey Jeremy, you know what else is a tremendous mental attack?
Being vilified for making decisions about your own body.
F**k off. Seriously.
Ugh. I’m a Christian and I HATE it when other Christians try to claim that if we didn’t have Christianity, there would be rampant murder and theft and rape. Aside from the fact that there really IS rampant murder theft and rape already, does he really think that Jews and Hindus and atheists and everybody else in the world approves of those things? It’s just so stupid. Ignorant and pompous. Sit down you arrogant know-nothing horse’s ass.
thank you. said (kinda) the same thing above.
+1,000,000
Well, most people say Judeo-Christian values, but Irons just focused on the Christianity part.
The people who say “judeo-christian values” would be equally wrong.
I’m Jewish and I hate when people say that there can be no morality without religion. I always picture Moses bringing down the 10 commandments – “Ehem… 1. Though shalt not kill” or whatever, and the people down below smacking their foreheads, “Gosh, why didn’t WE think of this?! It’s brilliant!” SMH.
hahahahaha! you just gave me a flashback to “History of the World: Part I”.
“the lord Jehovah has given us these 15…”
*drops one tablet* CRASH!
“…Oy. 10…10 Commandments!”
I was thinking of that part too 😉
he sort of contradicts himself in the interview. Who knew he was such a little nut?
I had 5 abortions for various reasons. I have not regrets.
I had one 21 years ago and am so massively greatful that it was available to me. I wish he would stop talking.
I had one 40 years ago and it was the smartest thing I could have done under the circumstances. Jeremy Irons take your pontificating mouth and stuff a sock in it.
Marvellous actor who should otherwise STFU.
“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” – Frank Zappa
And let me tell you, the psychological and physical pain would be even more profound if the state forced women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.
—
In Ireland, a country where Irons has a house (actually, a castle) the state does just this. Women have died as a result of abortion laws in Ireland ref: Savita Halappanavar case. So maybe Jeremy should start thinking before he starts rambling on about sinning. He says it’s a choice, but also that if you make that choice, you’ve done wrong and are sinner. He also praises the Catholic Church for its stance on abortion. Yeah, that doesn’t really read as pro-choice to me.
Ireland is planning on taking a referendum vote the 8th Amendment to the Constitution, which criminalizes abortion.
Last time I checked, voters polled at about 75% in favor of repeal. I think things are going to change very soon!
He said basically that he believes out is the woman’s choice, but that he believes it is a sin because of the damage that it does. So he doesn’t want to take the choice away, but he respects the church’s choice to say it is a sin, partly because it provides a counter-point. Also, if the catholic church views something as a sin, it allows the church a wider scope to provide acceptance and embrace of those women who have abortions but then go on to have the damage that Jeremy describes. Some women ARE horribly scarred by their decision, and that is something that is glossed over sometimes because we want the choice to always bring liberation, and it doesn’t always do that.
I’m Roman Catholic, and in my house we believe that abortion should be legal, accessible, safe and confidential, but we also don’t believe that it is the right choice most of the time. Not all catholics are as liberal as this, of course, but our house has made this decision because sometimes abortions are necessary for a woman’s life or to maintain her mental health, and compassion is part of our thought process.
If God is real and abortion is a sin God will sort out the sinners on the day of judgment won’t he? So why don’t the religos butt out of people’s business and let them exercise their God given right to choose?
This. Why do people insist on metaphorically burning crosses in other people’s yards to “out” them for their alleged sins? You live your life and I’ll live mine.
Because many believe killing a fetus is murder.
If you saw somebody raping, murdering or stealing, would you simply shrug your shoulders and say, “Eh, let God sort it all out”? Likely not. When good people see injustice, they are inclined to take action.
@RileyJ
And these “good people” often take such “good” actions as forcing a woman to have a child against her will, or murdering people at abortion clinics. These “good” people. Please.
@Riley
Because in order to view it that way you have to entirely wrap it up in an antiquated moral code that doesn’t operate based on science/logic.
It is not good to take action in order to soothe your own ego or comfort when you don’t truly assist the other person. That is selfish and shallow. I am not saying this as someone who believes all pro-life people are wrong, everyone can believe what they want to believe so long as they don’t force others, but this idea they intervene simply because they are witnessing a terrible crime doesn’t really follow the idea of a moral code intended for them to actually help others.
No. But I’m an atheist.
Actually, under natural circumstances, a significant proportion of all viable blastocysts that implant in the uterine lining abort on their own, and more than half of all viable fertilized eggs never implant at all. Nothing wrong with the blastocyst or fertilized egg– this is just what happens naturally.
This indicates to me that God (if there is a God, and, no, I do not believe that there is a deity planning all of this for us or any of that full quiver crap) is just fine with abortion since it is built into nature.
If the church really believes that life begins at the moment of conception and really cares about life, they would aggressively promote both sex education and hormonally based contraception to prevent these “horrible tragedies”. Women who use IUDs or BC pills do not typically have unplanned for fertilized eggs wafting about in their fallopian tubes. Pregnancies thrive better when people are actively trying to conceive.
The thing is, I don’t think protecting life is really the issue so much as the fear of rampant female sexuality and the desire to protect male power and privilege by keeping women barefoot and pregnant.
raping, murdering and stealing are crimes, by civil law. abortion is not. it is legal.
so, yeah, you should just shrug your shoulders and let G-d sort it out, at least when it comes to sins that are LEGAL. abortion may be an “injustice” in some people’s religions, but not everybody follows the same religion, or any religion.
ETA: yes, Miss Jupitero, you make good points. the church is also against BC. their stance is basically “punish a woman for having sex”. to add, any group that actively covered up rampant sexual abuse of children by their “spiritual leaders”, FOR DECADES, has no moral leg to stand on when it comes to ANYTHING.
“raping, murdering and stealing are crimes, by civil law. abortion is not. it is legal.”
Slavery used to be legal too. Let God sort it out, Abe! Shrug those shoulders, Abe!
Making abortion illegal is effectively enslaving women. When is it ever morally acceptable for the government to hijack a woman’s body and force her to go through with a pregnancy– no matter what effect it has on her life or health?
Shrug those shoulders, Riley J. Shrug those shoulders and just try to say it is all “God’s will,” even though it isn’t.
I agree with GNAT and Miss Jupitero.
“Slavery used to be legal too.”
the key words being “USED TO BE”…and it’s not anymore, but abortion still is. and are you actually comparing a legal medical procedure to the act of OWNING PEOPLE? your credibility pretty much went out the window right there.
@MissJupitero It’s my understanding that many blastocysts stop developing because of genetic abnormalities or, if there’s nothing wrong with the blast, it’s because conditions in the uterine aren’t ideal. Conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids or adenomyosis can all result in a healthy blastocyst arresting. I am pro-choice and not trying to argue about that, but I think the example you’re using to make your point may be incorrect. Most early miscarriages are blamed on genetic abnormalities or the conditions I’ve named above.
@RileyJ, even in religious circles, that’s a conservative position (and I think many people who say abortion is murder haven’t really parsed what it means. My husband was raised to believe that as a cultural norm and never thought to unpack the argument).
The argument is life begins when the soul enters into the body. Since nobody knows when the soul enters the body of a developing fetus, the conservative view takes no chances (by choice, not by specific Christian doctrine) in case the soul enters the body at conception (think about how…illogical that is).
Anyway, that’s how it was explained to me in my fundie-style upbringing. But it never made sense to me because anyone could see that equating the loss of a fertilized egg to the loss of a full-term fetus is offensive.
Re: souls. I’ve heard religos say that the souls of aborted fetuses go to heaven. If this is true then they’re lucky because they get an expres trip to paradise and don’t have to be born and run the risk of failing God’s tests and ending up in hell.
Greenie wrote:
“The argument is life begins when the soul enters into the body. Since nobody knows when the soul enters the body of a developing fetus, the conservative view takes no chances…in case the soul enters the body at conception…”
That’s why I can’t go along with them. As an identical twin, I was 2 people “at conception”. I know my sister and I don’t share a soul. We’re very close, but we’re two very distinct individuals.
You have a right to your opinion, but your point of view makes the least sense to me of all of them. I understand people who think abortion is murder. I don’t believe it is, but if I did, I would think abortion was wrong. In all circumstances. It is never ok to commit murder. Maybe you could make a self-defense argument if the life of the mother was in danger, but that would be the only exception. And I understand my point of view, which is that it is a personal decision that every woman has a right to make for herself. It’s none of my business, and I don’t judge her, or refer to her as “damaged but I still accept her right to exist.” This whole idea that something is a sin because of the damage it does seems backwards to me. Lots of things cause emotional trauma. Are they all sins? This feels like a smokescreen to me, so you can judge people for their actions but still sound “compassionate.” If I chose to have an abortion, I don’t need or want your “understanding.” It’s none of your business. I don’t mean that to sound harsh, but I know it does and I apologize. I just think you either believe something is another person’s choice, or you don’t.
GNAT: As far as I know abortion is still legal. Some of the anti abortionists would prefer we go back to the 50’s and back alleys and coat hangers. Geez. If a woman has an unwanted pregnancy she will find a way, legal or not. What would Jeremy think if his mother, sister whomever was raped and became pregnant. I already know the answer, have the baby. This thread will turn into a religious battle, so I guess I’ll just stop there.
Thank you, Fancyamazon. Why is it so forbidden for anyone to say that there are many cases where abortion is wrong? He isn’t saying it should be illegal, he is saying he doesn’t agree with it and it is a sin. I’m a woman and a mother and I agree with that statement.
There have been many cases where a woman had consensual, unprotected sex, wound up pregnant and aborted a perfectly healthy baby. To me, that is wrong. It’s fine if you want to hate me for saying that.
I don’t hate you for believing it’s wrong. I just think it hypocritical to pretend to think something is a “choice” and then judge it. It’s so easy for you to say that it’s “wrong” for another person to choose not to bring a child into their life just because they had unprotected sex. Maybe they can’t afford a child. Maybe they have all of the children they want. Maybe they just started the most important job of their career. Maybe the father is abusive. You have no idea. That’s why it’s none of your business. You have no right to decide whether or not it’s wrong for anyone but you, any more than I have a right to decide whether you had one too many children or you should have had one more so your child would have a sibling. I happen to think it’s “wrong” to judge people when I know nothing of their motives or life. It might make you feel superior, but it doesn’t make you right.
Maybe they don’t believe human beings have souls to be conferred at some point during a biological process that evolved over millions of years and that a collection of dividing cells does not a baby make? This would be me.
And no offence to anyone who does believe in a human soul: you have every right to that belief. You just don’t have the right to make me act as you believe. As GNAT is pointing out, even though I’m pretty sure she does not believe as I do.
“I happen to think it’s “wrong” to judge people when I know nothing of their motives or life.”
And yet you judge Gabrielle and call her “hypocritical”. Cognitive dissonance, much?
Everyone judges. Even saying it’s wrong to judge is, in itself, a judgment. People who whine about other people “judging” should just be honest and say their problem isn’t with others judging, it’s with people who have the temerity to espouse opinions contrary to their own. How dare they! The nerve of those people! Why don’t they just shut their mouths and stop judging (in a way I don’t approve of)!
@Gabrielle I don’t hate you for your opinion but I would say this; unless you have adopted at least one child your opinion to me is utterly meaningless. Now before anyone says “oh but it’s very hard to adopt a baby” I didn’t say baby, I said child. Thousands waiting in foster care. Unless you have done this your words are empty pontificating. Words are empty, if I see action then your opinion might be worth hearing.
Same goes for Irons. Empty, meaningless words.
I’m pro-choice.
I don’t agree with the argument that you can’t be critical of someone’s choices. I’m quite anti-drug. You can make whatever choice you want with what you want to put in your body. But I can still argue that you are allowed that choice and still not support your choice to do it. Allowing choice does not equate to condoning. I can still be critical of your actions, and at the same time support your free will to do something I don’t approve of personally.
My problem with some Pro-lifer stances is that they put more emphasis on an unborn fetus then living, breathing children. Thinking of all the horrible cases of abuse and neglect is why I could never be against abortion, because there are many people who should NOT be parents under any circumstances. I tend to think in some cases having legal, safe abortion has prevented tragedies for children. A child deserves to be born to parents who want them wholeheartedly, not forced upon them unwillingly.
And before anyone cries adoption, think of how overburdened the foster system is wth children no one wants to adopt.
@Sixer, I believe in a God and a soul and I am pro-choice.
Riley J- You’re looking at the abortion issue in such a one-dimensional way. This isn’t merely about contradicting opinions, this is about someone literally trying to take away another person’s right to have autonomy over their own body. That’s what anti-choicers do- they push to legislate their religious beliefs as a way to deny others their rights.
@RileyJ
I am judging an opinion that Gabrielle put out for everyone to see. Not her life. Your arguments never make sense. Think before you speak, please. Stop wasting my time.
@Sloaney
I never said you can’t be critical of someone else’s choice. I said you can’t CLAIM to be fine with abortion then say it’s a sin or wrong. That doesn’t make sense to me. And drug abuse is hardly the same thing. Your comparing apples to oranges.
@Gabrielle So you think it would be okay for said woman to have a child she didn’t want and be resentful or unloving to that child because she gave birth before she was ready or when circumstances weren’t ideal? I think this is wrong as well. My parents were separated when I was conceived and divorced while I was an infant. I always grew up feeling unloved and one day I asked my mother if she’d wanted to have an abortion. She admitted that the topic came up and was discussed but she ultimately decided not to do it, probably because of social pressures and fear of moral judgment. That said, my mother and father were not interested in having me and I grew up feeling this–largely because my mother was emotionally, verbally and physically abusive. I don’t think a woman has to be raped to know that it’s not the right decision for her to be a mother.
I was also an abused child, which is why I am actually pro-abortion, not just pro-choice. Pro-choice is the stance that MUST be taken in a society that believes in a right to bodily privacy and freedom. But, I am also pro-abortion, meaning I think access to abortions should be easy and they should be encouraged. The suffering of children who are unwanted is profound and reverberates through their entire lives, often piling on to the next generation of vulnerable children. If you had parents who were essentially loving, then you have no idea how devastating it is to grow up without loving adults.
BGE – I salute you. The few religious people I know (we are a bunch of heathens here in Britland!) are all similar to you.
@Sixer, thanks! I LOVE Britland and the Brits!!! Going there again in June – St. Ives and London! Cannot wait! I wish I could meet a nice Brit bloke and settle down there.
WTW: One reason why the church opposed a lot of contraception and the emergency contraception that is given to rape victims is that they work by preventing implantation. This is why they inaccurately call them “abortifacients” — blithely ignoring of course the fact that abortion is by definition ending a pregnancy and pregnancy has a very real medical definition. In their minds, the woman is obligated to become pregnant once conception takes place.
I would also like to point out that the anti-abortion lobby, and the Catholic church, vigorously support the Human Life Amendment which states that legal personhood begins at the moment of conception– leaving open the possibility that women can be legally held accountable for miscarriages and fertilizations that fail to lead to pregnancy. Did implantation fail because she had endometriosis? Or because she took a lot of vitamin C? Prepare for the inquest…. I’m not being whimsical– there is plenty of very extreme legislation which has been proposed that would make this very real.
Yes some blastocysts are not viable and abort, but many healthy blastocysts also never make it, for all kinds of reasons– some of which the church and many politicians would like to blame on women. That is what it is all about. Blame women.
Yes, pregnancy is a possibility–not a promise.
And if the woman does not even want the possibility?
@MissJupitero, I just mean implicit to the anti-abortion argument is the idea that abortion prematurely ends life (so it’s murder). But pregnancy isn’t the promise of life. There are a million hurdles–including childbirth–that have to be surpassed beforehand. Pregnancy is just the possibility of life. When you get pregnant, you’re not promised a fetus, a successful delivery, or a baby.
But anti-abortionists make no distinction. They simplify life to the most rudimentary biological function even as they devalue the mother’s.
@RileyJ: The obvious difference is that murder, slavery, rape, and theft are things that harm actually living, thinking, sentient human beings. People who are pro-choice think that the rights of a living person trump the rights of a potential life.
@FancyAmazon: It’s true that some women are scarred or suffer after getting an abortion (socialization plays a role in some of that scarring and suffering too) and should definitely be able to talk about their experience like anyone else, but some women are also scarred and suffer because of unwanted pregnancies too.
Good grief- has he always been such a whack-a-doo? Pls Mr Irons-no more interviews for you!
Eh, can’t be bothered to be offended by this putz.
One thing I learned when I was working as a hotline counselor at Planned Parenthood is that: people are not all the same, they do not all feel the same way, they do not have the same experiences (physically or emotionally), their life experiences can be vastly different, and, at the end of the day, they and only they are the expert on their own feelings and experiences. I’ve talked to women who are conflicted and sad, and women who can’t make the appointment fast enough. Women for whom contraception goes without a hitch, and women who have significant problems with almost every method. And so on and so on. Women are moral agents and perfectly capable of determining where they stand and what is best for them.
I don’t have any problem with anyone having whatever religious feelings they want to have about abortion and contraception. I *do* have a big problem with those who think it is their prerogative the impose their values upon everyone else, and especially to restrict sex education and contraception, the two things which do the most to reduces the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion. The data is out there– restricting abortion doesn’t even reduce the rate of abortion– it just friggin’ kills women.
Sorry for the rant, but this issue pretty much sends the blood spurting out of my ears.
Can I just big you up for doing that job? You rock.
*CLAPPING*
well said, all of it.
Rant away, my friend. Your comments here are spot-on.
Standing and clapping….well said!!
Great post! A central point here being that every woman is different; their circumstances, needs and what’s best for them is different.
While I can understand that Irons’ opinion inflames me, it is actually doesn’t bother me. He sounds like the many who haven’t bothered to understand the opposing POV before forming his own. But, given that he says he believes it should be accessible to women and that the woman should have the right to choose, I’m quite ambivalent to the fact that he chooses to have an opinion on those choices. It’s fine … we all have opinions about other people’s business but as long as we recognise that our opinion shouldn’t be mandated, we’re doing well.
The people I genuinely fear are the Republican candidates for President – the entire current (and prior, if I’m honest with Santorum’s red hazed platform) cast is scary with Trump only the least scary of that lot in my opinion. This whole contingent makes Irons’ opinion look like weak tea – which is exactly what it is.
Been reading this whole thread with interest (along with various other emotions) am now chiming in to say A-freaking men!
Gotta admit whenever people complain about men not being asked if they’re feminists like female celebs are I kinda picture situations like this.
There’s just something horribly cringy about asking someone to explain and explore issues they’ll NEVER face. It just immediately turns cringe.
Who the f does he think he is. I guess when he had his pretend abortion, he felt it necessary to tell WOMEN how they would feel mentally. GTH
I’m not going to take what he said personally, however, I loathe calling abortion a sin, LOATHE it.
Also, religion doesn’t make people good, look at ISIS… the Crusades… the medical professionals murdered for simply helping women in a medical capacity 😤
GTFOH with this nonsense already.
Ah, to live in the world of the rich, smug bastard, where divorce is “dead easy” and anyone can get one at the drop of a pin, and the only complications are the one you choose to add yourself just for the fun of screwing your ex–and those complications don’t ever blow back on your bad self.
I don’t know anyone in my personal circle for whom divorce was an easy decision and an easy process, whose household income did not immediately drop by about 40% (because divorce for us lazy middle class and working class people is actually _dead expensive_), who weren’t agonized over the effects it had on their kids (from the emotional to the logistics of new routines), and who constantly had to question whether it was the time to move forward, at every step of the way. Let’s just add a good dollop of spiritual agony and fear for eternity to the mix, so those unthinking divorcers actually understand the significance of their actions.
Yep, and I think part of the reason why people don’t like his interviews is that he isn’t just saying that he personally disapproves of abortion. It’s the sweeping generalization (“abortion harms women. ” Okay, which women? Some? All? What about those harmed by pregnancy?) He equates every decision that his religion teaches is wrong with ‘harm’ and ‘sin’ that people need ‘protection’ from and basically implies that we should be grateful to Christianity for inventing the concept of right and wrong. So arrogant.
How dare he mention the Catholic Church here.
The Catholic Church is the world wide number 1 cause of abortions, because of
its crusade against any reliable contraception method.
not to mention (as I did above) the whole “cover up the pedophilia” thing.
they have NO moral leg to stand on. clean house before you preach to me about my morality.
what was it Jesus said? “remove the log from your own eye before pointing out the splinter in mine”?…something like that?
Matthew 7:1-5
So having an abortion for a dead fetus is a sin? And one for chromosomal/genetic issues is also a sin? Yeah stfu. I’m guess I’m going to hell then. See you there, Jeremy. Lol.
If we (women) want men to talk about and understand feminism, we must accept all kinds of opinions too. Jeremy has a point. For religious people, abortion is a sin. But we can choose if we are religious or not.
Jeremy is right when he says that abortion is or can be a tremendous attack. I am a nurse and I have sen women crying because they had abortion when they were young. I have seen women who are mentally unstable because their parents forced them to abort the baby.
Well said.
I am surprised that so many here think that men are not allowed to have opinions on abortion, or that the Catholic Church can’t, either. That would be like saying you can’t criticize Trump if you’re not American (because you can’t vote in our elections), that people who haven’t served can’t opine on a war, or that women can’t comment on the movie “Concussion”/the NFL because they don’t play football. The more people in the conversation, the better.
The difference is that women can theoretically play football and women can serve in the military so yes of course women can have an opinion about these issues. Men can never ever understand what it’s like to go through an abortion so how can someone like Irons talk about what abortion does to women? It’s not about having an opinion about abortion, it’s talking about it like he understands it on a personal level, which he does not and never could because he doesn’t have a uterus or a vagina.
It’s not that he (or any church) is ‘not allowed’ to have an opinion (I don’t see one person here yet saying he should be harmed or arrested or in any way punished for his opinion. Nobody is saying his interview or whichever magazine he gave it to should be banned or anything like that. His first amendment rights haven’t been violated in any way.) It’s that other women are pointing out his privilege and criticizing his arrogance about his religion. We’re allowed to do that too. 🙂
I was responding to the many comments that he needs to STFU, not any official censorship. As I said, the more conversation, the better, including those who don’t agree with him.
And men can be involved in a abortion as the father of the fetus (if they were part of that choice), or as the friend or relative of a woman who has an abortion. It’s weird to treat this as if it happens in a vacuum, that it only effects the woman and no one around her (unless she confides in no one). I wouldn’t be surprised if he came by his opinion because someone close to him has had an abortion. I’ve never had cancer, but having witnessed my husband’s battle with it I can have some thoughts on its toll on him without claiming to have literally felt the pain and deep emotions of having it myself.
Maybe he does understand it on a personal level. Maybe he had a partner who aborted his child and gave him no say in terminating someone that carried half of his DNA. Just as he doesn’t know what some other women have gone through, you don’t know what he’s possibly been through.
Well said A Finn, Lizzy and SloaneY. He has every right to his opinion.
@Lizzy: But I’m sure you don’t go around lecturing other cancer patients on what treatments are ‘sinful’ for them, or implying that without Christians (or any other group you belong to) there would be no morality or concept of badness, so in that way you’re at least one step above this guy here. You’re also not a known homophobe, so there’s that.
@Sloaney: Even if that did happen, (it’s very generous to assume that that’s his motive, and that it’s not about his “Our way is The Only Right Way for people to live” brand of Christianity and his need to push his religious definition of morality on other people, if you look at this interview and things he’s said in the past) his feelings take a back seat to other people’s ownership of their own bodies, especially because he’s a wealthy male celebrity who will never have to deal with making that choice with his BODY. The groups of people who would be hit hardest by the consequences of not having access to safe, legal abortion should be put before distant wealthy men sitting up in their castles, waving their religious agendas around while never actually having to live in fear of the physical, economic, and other consequences of getting pregnant.
@Illyra: He has the right to his opinion. And women have every right to criticize a male’s opinion on abortion, Just like people have the right to criticize his opinion on gays.
Abortion is not a sin in the mind of this religious person.
“Most celebrities/actors would have some sense of self-awareness that their thoughts are terrible and should never be spoken out loud.”
Why can’t he say what he thinks?
Seems half the time people are angry when a celebrity doesn’t share their thoughts on a topical issue, and then the other half wishing they would shut up if they don’t agree.
I say let it all out if you want to and people can think what they want.
I think every woman has her own line in the sand for when she would consider an abortion. Those lines come from experiences, religious beliefs, ethical beliefs, culture and subculture, etc. Being pro-choice is respecting the right of others to have an abortion even if their line doesn’t match yours.
+1 exactly. Abortion is not for me, but when I told the doctor I was pregnant and he said, “you want baby?”–I was happy to have such ready and judgment-free access to it. Provided by the public health care system, no less.
No two woman experience anything the exact same.. that includes an abortion. Most importantly, a man will never ever physically, emotionally, or mentally experience an abortion firsthand with the body they are born in. So, a man should never ever have a say over how an abortion or anything else can or will effect a woman. Period.
Jeremy Irons needs to shut it!
Also, I’ve been pregnant and that’s freaking mentally (and physically) hard, too. I would never force another woman to do that if it wasn’t her choice.
His comments re marriage & adultery are pretty rich considering he has been in an “open” marriage & sleeps around. He’s a blithering hypocrite.
Well, an open marriage is not the same as adultery. That’s a decision made with the consent and understanding of both partners. While the whole “this young people don’t understand the value of marriage!” makes me roll my eyes, I wouldn’t consider it hypocritical. If Irons and his wife agreed to open the marriage, that is a way of making it work, even if it’s not common. More what I find problematic with that statement is the lack of historical awareness. Divorce was less common decades ago for several reason, but one of the biggest is that women had very limited access to financial stability outside of men. That’s not as much of a problem these days, eh?
I agree with your point about open marriage vs. adultery, but it is kind of weird for a guy who’s all morality and bible-this, anti-gay that, and anti-divorce to be all about open marriage and casual sex. Why is it that to him, a person who wants to date, marry, or have sex with a person of the same sex is comparable to some guy committing incest against his own son, and people who get divorces or reject marriage altogether are doing something Sinful And Bad For People, but open marriage and repeat ‘fornication’ (that’s what his crowd calls having sex with someone without- gasp!- getting married to them) perfectly fine?
He’s entitled to his own opinion, no matter how utterly stupid, unwanted and misogynistic it is.
I have read the comments above and I would like to add my thoughts. For those that assume that the Catholic Church assigns guilt and shame for abortions just because it respects all life and is pro-life…. Have you spoken to a priest? Have you been to church, informed yourself, looked into things LATELY? I am a devout Catholic. I had an abortion, back in my 20’s. I was convinced I was not particularly affected by it or traumatized by it. But I always had that feeling that I needed something…more. I met with a wonderful priest and he was amazing, consoling and full of mercy. I am forgiven and I am grateful. I respect everyone’s opinion here, that their journey is their own, and their choices are theirs alone. But if you are religious, and that niggling feeling that that particular journey is not finished, God is waiting, with mercy, love and forgiveness. Thank you.
Thank you, Melissa. I too have had a similar experience and appreciate you sharing yours.
I think it really depends on the region and the individual church, honestly. My mother actually left the Catholic church in our region because she got fed up with their position on women and the issue of abortion (especially considering they had no problem supporting and honoring military). The last straw was a list of “sins” posted on their bulletin boards actually compared ordaining women as a sin comparable to the sexual assault of children.
I am sorry for your Mom’s experience. I imagine all religions and churches vary, don’t you? Just as all churches and religions have their share of people that should not be put in position of leadership or finances, or counseling anyone. I think it is reckless to say ONLY the Catholic Church is guilty of such things. Perhaps I am fortunate in that the 35 years I have been Catholic (I am a convert) and the 4 Catholic parishes (in different cities we have lived in) I have been a member of, I have experienced nothing but joy, compassion, fellowship, and grace from the priests I have encountered and the churches I have become part of. This was your mother’s experience. Did she look into a different parish? Have you?
Spoken like a true woman, Jeremy. Oh – wait…
Indiana just passed a law banning abortions when the fetus has a disability.
Wait, what?
Are they also legislating for who cares for those children, when born, and providing the money to do it? I say that as someone with a disabled child. My son needs and deserves the support we can only give him because we are at a life stage that makes that possible. Anyone legislating that way needs to ensure that the kids who will result are appropriately nurtured from cradle to grave, and something tells me that ain’t part of any such picture.
K2, I’m sure not.
these people are NOT “pro-life”, they are pro-BIRTH.
evidenced by how they cut $ for social programs that would help a woman who was forced to carry to term from laws like this.
once that baby is out, you’re on your own.
I can understand some of the reasoning behind that law, but it’s going to be a serious problem if they aren’t backing it with financial and therapeutic support for those families.
I can’t, really, and do not understand why women carrying a child with a serious condition aren’t trusted to understand information presented to them, that they wouldn’t do research on their child’s condition and can reason whether or not such a condition would be something they can reasonably cope with. It’s just poisonous.
My friend’s cousin had a baby born with something horrifying. It lived six weeks or something in pain the entire time. When my friend described it to me, I thought it was horrifying and inhumane. Nobody will ever convince me abortion (euthanasia, even) wouldn’t have been a kindness.
LIFE itself is a ‘tremendous mental attack’, IMHO.
Please, Jeremy Irons, sit down and shut up.
If I got knocked up, I’d have an abortion in a second and not have any second thoughts about it. It wouldn’t harm me psychologically because I have no affinity for children – don’t like them and never wanted them. Jeremy Irons is forgetting that not every woman has maternal feelings.
I’ve had one and also have a child. Now that I’m a parent, I understand how difficult it is to be a parent and how being forced to have a child when you do not want one or cannot care for one is absolutely worse than an abortion. Not just for the mother, but the child. There are plenty of people out there that choose to keep a child when they really aren’t prepared to raise it on many levels. What is THAT doing to our society? It always amazes me that it is the same group of people that want to force women to have babies they can’t support AND at the same time don’t believe in welfare or government support of families that can’t afford to raise their own child. What perfect world do they live in?
Parenting is serious work and a lot of sacrifice. I find it rewarding and fun and love it. But there is no denying it’s hard work and if it’s even vaguely unappealing I think it’s best not to even go there.
I agree with him that many, many women are unprepared for the emotional devastation that can come after an abortion… even if they are not religious and don’t think they “should” feel guilty, many times they do, and never really get over it. For some women it’s no big deal but for others it’s a lifelong trauma, and women should know *all* the risks involved in abortion, physical and emotional.
That’s part and partial to the general failure of our society to treat women’s health with compassion and respect as it is anything else. We limit women’s reproductive health options, jack up the prices of their health care, fail to provide adequate financial support for the impoverished and social support for the raped and domestically abused, then repeatedly punish these women through heated, dehumanizing, and polarized political dialogue regarding their reproductive choices. If I had a guess, that has as much to do with the emotional trauma abortion inspires in some women than the act itself.
F- him and the dumb horse he rode in on.
I had an abortion. It was right for me. It didn’t cause me mental strain, and I don’t feel bad about it.
Jeremy Irons, Keeper of the Uterus, has spoken. I can rest easy now.
I believe in a person’s right to chose. I have never been in a position where I have had to make this particular decision. I will spend my life not judging people that do. Life is hard sometimes.
It’s annoying when a man tries to pontificate about women’s health issues as if they know more than women do. I guess playing the Pope has gone to his head.
It is remarkable to me how much men seem to know about biological and medical processes through which they do not personally undergo.
I mean, yeah, I get it. Abortion can be traumatic for many women, particularly in cases where the choice to abort is not the emotionally preferred one, but that presumes a lot about the circumstances of a woman’s life and why she made her choice. And I have to be frank – I don’t see how anyone could look at women who are emotionally devastated by this choice and think for a second that saying, “Thank God the church says it’s a sin” is at all helpful.
I haven’t read all the comments before this yet, so apologies if this seems random. I saw the subject and had to write. I had an abortion and, while the whole ordeal is unpleasant, there is nothing more disgusting to me than having a child I knew I couldn’t love and did not want. The condom did honestly break with a man that eventually became my spouse, but that is not even a distinction. No one is “pro abortion.” To those that want to take that well-measured choice away, I sincerely ask…what is MY life worth? By being forced to have a child I didn’t want, it would have destroyed 3 lives..mine, my spouse’s, and the child’s. I don’t regret it at all and am so grateful I had that option available.
What about the rights of the innocent unborn child you have heartlessly murdered??!! You take away Their right to go on living simply because they dont have a voice?!! How convenient for you! All you care about is your own rights. A baby develops a heart beat by 5 weeks. They can feel pain by the time abortions are done. You decide they are not ‘real babies’ and that its ‘ok to kill them’ just becuase they are early in their development. You determine their worthiness of life on whether they are “wanted” or not? How is it that a parent can fight for the life of a premature 23 week infant, but at the same time another parent can terminate their unborn babies life at the same age?? You are all selfish disgusting baby killing witches. Shame on you.
@Anon55 – I wrote above, but I got pregnant accidentally, despite birth control, with my partner of 15 years – husband of 10 years – with whom I share two beautiful children. We knew, absolutely knew, that having a third child would destroy our family. I was traumatized from my first two difficult pregnancies and I couldn’t go through that again, and I also knew that I had reached the limit on how much my husband and I could handle. Having one more would have most likely thrown us into a marriage crisis and a separation. The well being of our existing family was more important to us, and I also believe that it is a horrible, horrible thing to have a child who would not be wanted. I miscarried about a week before the D&C, but the choice was already made and I feel only relief and gratitude that I didn’t have to bring an unwanted child into the world.
I haven’t read the comments.
Jeremy Irons should shut the hell up about anything to do with women.
What he said was awful… but I agree that if you vote for the guy who’s on tv because he makes you laugh you really don’t deserve to be allowed to vote.
No lies detected.
I don’t really feel like he says anything too out of pocket. He’s just real.
I used to like this guy.
Well he’s entitled to his opinion, even if I don’t agree with it.
I like that last line though “If democracy has become a gameshow where you vote for the one who makes you laugh most, or whatever, then we’re not worthy to have the vote.”
Well he’s got it right there at least.
Jeremy Irons sounds exactly like my religious Mother in law. I guess you can say abortion is bad- WHEN YOU OWN 6 HOUSES IS IT? Maybe try being poor Jeremy! Ignorant idiot. NOT ONE OF THESE RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS SAYS WHAT HAPPENS when you do choose to continue the pregnancy. I’ve STRUGGLED FINANCIALLY, had to DEFER MY UNI SCHOOLING, HAD PRE AND POST NATAL DEPRESSION and HEMORGGED after the birth. But not one of these so called pro lifers tell you any this!