Emmy Winner and FFL Honorary Chair Patricia Heaton “Revealed”

Patricia Heaton, who is best known for her role as Debra on the CBS hit comedy series, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” was recently interviewed by host Jules Asner on E! Television’s “Revealed.” For the past two years, Heaton has been awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role in a Comedy Series. She also serves as Honorary Chair of Feminists for Life of America.

Heaton was asked about her first Emmy acceptance speech when she thanked her mother for “letting me out because life is really amazing.“ She responded, “Since my mother passed away, I wanted to somehow make a tribute to her. The fact that I was standing on that stage was only possible because she had me. The greatest gift you can give someone is their life.”

Heaton explained why it is so important for her to be involved as FFL’s Honorary Chair. “I felt it was important to be a part of solutions for women who would like to keep the baby, but they have a boyfriend, husband or parents telling them they are going to cut them out of their lives, so they have nobody else to turn to.” She added, “It comes down to supporting people and stepping out and affirming that life is good.”

Heaton recognized that “it is a very unpopular position to hold in Hollywood.” But she also recognized how uncomfortable people are with abortion. “There are a lot of people out here who say they are pro-choice but say `Although I would never have an abortion myself.’ So I guess there are a lot of people who see that being pro-life as being judgmental, and people don’t want to pass judgment on those that had an abortion. It is very hard to pass judgment because women are put in a very difficult position, especially if they are not married and they are young.”

Reflecting on her own experience she added, “And it is scary. You know, when I got pregnant the first time, my husband and I were trying to have kids. We had planned it. Got pregnant. When I found out, I gasped, because I knew that it was going to change my life irrevocably. There’s no going back.”

Heaton believes that “women who experience an unplanned pregnancy also deserve unplanned joy.”

Like the early American feminists who opposed abortion, Feminists for Life works to systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion by facilitating practical solutions. For more information about Feminists for Life, send us an email at info@feministsforlife.org.