Actor Admits Abortion 'Eats Away at My Soul'

Last week, I wrote about how "Cheers" and "Frasier" actor Kelsey Grammer finally shared the details of his late sister's murder in his new book "Karen: A Brother Remembers," but those horrific details weren't the only things he shared with the world. He also opened up about how abortion impacted his life in a negative way, and I have to applaud him for it. It's rare that we hear men talk about these things with such openness and honesty.  

Back in 1974, when he was very young, his girlfriend at the time became pregnant. She did not want to keep the baby and decided to have an abortion, despite the fact that Grammer said that he himself would keep the baby. She went through with the procedure anyway. He says the fact that they "volunteered to have my son's body vacuumed out of his mother's" still haunts him and fills him with regret. 

"I know that many people do not have a problem with abortion, and though I have supported it in the past, the abortion of my son eats away at my soul," he wrote in the new book. He adds, "I supported the idea that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her own body. I still do. But it's hard for me. Still is."  

He also called out the doctors who perform abortion. "The doctor, or so-called doctors, who have executed generations of children in this manner — I have no idea how they call themselves doctors. Something about the 'first, do no harm' thing," he wrote.   

Later in life, he found himself in a similar situation, but this time, there was more at stake. In 2011, Grammer's current wife, Kayte Walsh, became pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. About thirteen weeks into the pregnancy, the baby boy's sack of amniotic fluid ruptured and did not repair itself. The little boy would probably die and take his sister with him, doctors said. 

Grammer says that he and Walsh prayed about the decision, and they decided that they must do whatever necessary to save their daughter. That meant aborting the little boy. "We killed our son so Faith might live. We wept as we watched his heart stop," Grammer wrote in the memoir, adding, "It is the greatest pain I have ever known. Kayte's scream was enough to make a man mourn a lifetime."   

Their daughter survived the risky pregnancy, and today, the aptly named Faith is a healthy 12-year-old. The couple also has two sons, and Grammer has four children from his previous marriages.   

Again, I think it's refreshing that Grammer opened up about this. We often hear from women who had abortions and the major impact it had on their mental health. Many of them end up regretting their decisions. While it's rare for men to share their feelings on the topic, studies have shown that it impacts their mental health as well. 

In the book, "Women's Health After Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence," authors Elizabeth Ring-Cassidy and Ian Gentles write: 

A number of studies, however, point to the fact that men often experience depression, guilt, anger, grief, and shame after their partner has an abortion, feelings commonly experienced by the woman herself. In the aftermath of abortion, particularly where the feelings around the decision to abort are ambivalent, men often feel depressed and when they have not been consulted about the decision, they often feel angry about being legally disenfranchised.

As with women, men whose partners abort may demonstrate self-destructive behavior by abusing drugs, alcohol, and sex. On the other hand, men often push women to have an abortion, and in these cases, their initial reaction is relief; in later therapy, however, some of these men demonstrate symptoms of distress, guilt, and grief. It is well documented that a large percentage of unmarried relationships dissolve after an abortion, sometimes because the woman feels that she and her baby have been abandoned and sometimes because the man has not been consulted and feels powerless. There are few counseling programs for men, and some researchers are now calling for further studies of the effect of abortion on men and follow-up therapy for them.

Those who are for abortion like to downplay the way it affects a woman's mental and even physical health in the long run, but they downright bury any impact it may have on the man who got her pregnant. Whether you are pro-life or pro-abortion, Grammer's sentiments are proof that we need to do better in this area. Men deserve to be heard, too.  

Enjoying our content? You can access even more (and other perks)  by becoming a PJ Media VIP member. Right now, it's only $1.63 per month or less than $20 per year to sign up.  Just click this link to get started and use the code word "FIGHT" to make sure you get that awesome deal we're currently running. We can't wait to see you in the comments section!