{"id":32041,"date":"2024-08-10T18:16:49","date_gmt":"2024-08-10T18:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/?p=32041"},"modified":"2024-08-10T18:19:54","modified_gmt":"2024-08-10T18:19:54","slug":"tenth-anniversary-of-robin-williams-death-is-a-reminder-of-abortion-sorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/tenth-anniversary-of-robin-williams-death-is-a-reminder-of-abortion-sorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenth Anniversary of Robin William’s Death is a Reminder of Abortion Sorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Mary FioRito<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 11, it will be ten years since actor Robin Williams took his own life<\/a>. He was 63. His suicide shocked the world \u2013 the comedian who could light up a room and make you laugh with just one look had been so depressed he no longer wished to live? It just did not make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he was initially misdiagnosed<\/a> with Parkinson\u2019s, Williams had actually been suffering from Lewy Body<\/a> dementia (LBD), a type of dementia related to Parkinson\u2019s disease, but with distinct qualities and symptoms. Frequently, Lewy body dementia involves hallucinations of people who are not present, often children<\/a> or \u201clittle people.\u201d In fact, it is estimated that as many as 80%<\/a> of people with Lewy body dementia experience visual hallucinations and often express ideas not based in reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some stud<\/a>ies suggest<\/a> that those with Lewy body dementia at are a much higher risk of suicide and suicidal ideation, and that they are more prone to act out on those ideas because of the complex nature of Lewy\u2019s effect on the brain\u2019s impulse control mechanisms. Tellingly, Williams\u2019 wife referred<\/a> to his illness as, \u201cThe terrorist inside my husband\u2019s brain.\u201d Williams had also had long-documented struggles with alcohol and cocaine addiction and, in fact, had gone through another stint in rehab<\/a> just prior to his death.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Yet another factor may have contributed to Williams\u2019s depression: he was the father of an aborted child. Although met with skepticism<\/a> and outright scorn and derision<\/a> by the left-leaning press, Robins had, over the years, occasionally spoken of his unborn baby as a child he would have welcomed had his personal circumstances been different. He told biographer Andy Dougan<\/a>, in the memoir, Robin Williams <\/em>(Thunder\u2019s Mouth Press, 1999) the couple had decided on abortion, \u201cbecause we were too young and it wasn\u2019t right.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams\u2019 comments are reminiscent of the recollections of Brittany Spears in her recent autobiography, The Woman in Me <\/em>(Gallery Books, 2023). Spears\u2019 revealed that during her four-year relationship with singer Justin Timberlake, she had become pregnant and that, under pressure from Timberlake<\/a>, she used abortion pills at home to end the life of their unborn child. “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it,\u201d Spears wrote. \u201cTo this day, it\u2019s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life\u2026 but Justin\u2026said we weren\u2019t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There exists reliable data<\/a> on men and abortion that may shed light on the impact abortion can have on a man\u2019s mental health. Approximately \u00be of men who are the fathers of aborted children report adverse changes in their lives. Among the most commonly cited<\/a> are: anxiety, depression, isolation, anger, and substance abuse. 83% of post-abortive men admitted they \u201ccould have benefitted from help\u201d in the years following their partner\u2019s abortion. While some proponents of abortion claim that post-abortion aftermath \u2013 especially in men \u2013 is a sheer figment of the pro-life imagination, acknowledgment of abortion\u2019s impact on men can be found from secular, non-religious experts in grief in trauma. Mary Lamia, the author of Grief Isn’t Something to Get Over: Finding a Home for Memories and Emotions After Losing a Loved One <\/em>(American Psychological Association Books, 2022) noted in Psychology Today<\/a> that, \u201cCommon experiences among men whose partners have an induced abortion include ambivalence, loss, grief guilt, self-reproach, a feeling of responsibility, depression, anger, sexual dysfunction, depression, and post-traumatic stress response.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anniversary of Williams\u2019 tragic death offers a moment for the pro-life community to reflect on abortion\u2019s impact on men. It is not easy to disentangle the many factors that could have contributed to his death: the abortion, his subsequent drug and alcohol addiction, and the Lewy body dementia which robbed him of his sharp mind and clear thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet it is interesting to note that, despite his advocacy for legal abortion as a Hollywood celebrity, Williams seemed to carry with him a deep regret, a sort of \u201cI just wish things had been different,\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like any of us, Williams is entitled to God\u2019s mercy and, on the anniversary of his death, we should pray that he is now reunited with his child, and that they are reconciled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

If you know a man who is struggling with post-abortion aftermath, resources and referrals can be found through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supportafterabortion.com<\/a> and
Hopeafterabortion.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary FioRito is an attorney and Cardinal Francis George Fellow at both the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the deNicola Center for Ethics and Culture. She writes from Chicago.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Mary FioRito On August 11, it will be ten years since actor Robin Williams took his own life. He was 63. His suicide shocked the world \u2013 the comedian who could light up a room and make you laugh with just one look had been so depressed he no longer wished to live? 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