Martin Sheen on abortion

This year, the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal will be awarded to actor-activist Martin Sheen.  (Story here.)  Here is the statement of Notre Dame's President, Fr. John Jenkins:

"As one of our nation's most recognizable and accomplished screen actors, Martin Sheen has achieved a level of celebrity that few Americans enjoy," said the Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame's president. "He has used that celebrity to draw the attention of his fellow citizens to issues that cry out for redress, such as the plight of immigrant workers and homeless people, the waging of unjust war, the killing of the unborn and capital punishment. We welcome the opportunity to lift up his example for our church, our country, and our students."

Here is what Mr. Sheen had to say about abortion in an interview with The Progressive:

Q: What are your views on abortion?

Sheen: I cannot make a choice for a women, particularly a black or brown or poor pregnant woman. I would not make a judgment in the case. As a father and a grandfather, I have had experience with children who don't always come when they are planned, and I have experienced the great joy of God's presence in my children, so I'm inclined to be against abortion of any life. But I am equally against the death penalty or war-- anywhere people are sacrificed for some end justifying a means. I don't think abortion is a good idea. I personally am opposed to abortion, but I will not judge anybody else's right in that regard because I am not a woman and I could never face the actual reality of it.

Sigh.

UPDATE: As (more than) a few gimlet-eyed MOJ readers have noted -- some, it seems, with the relish that comes with spotting others' typos -- the Laetare Award is going to Martin "Apocalypse Now" Sheen, not Charlie "Hot Shots! Part Deux" Sheen. My bad. More UPDATE: I did not intend to (and so, did not) -- as one commenter at the Vox Nova blog put it -- "decry" the recognition of Sheen, whom I admire. What I "sigh[ed]" about was the fact -- and it is a fact -- that someone who comes so close to being an interestingly consistent and therefore provocative witness to the Gospel of Life dropped the ball, at the end of the day, with the "personally opposed but . . . " position. Sheen's failure here -- to take a position that would actually cost him, in the world he inhabits -- is a missed opportunity. It does not surprise me that Notre Dame is going to honor him -- there are many good reasons to honor him -- but it does disappoint me that Sheen (who is not, after all, running for office or seeking a seat on the Supreme Court) is unable, or unwilling, to actually say what's what on the issue. Finally, my Vox Nova colleague Morning's Minion wrote, in the comments section at that blog, something along the lines of "well, Sheen's no different than John Roberts, who is actually in a position to do something about abortion." Actually, it is not at all obvious to me that John Roberts -- whose job, of course, is to decide legal cases -- is in a better position to change hearts, minds, and practices on abortion. And, in any event, to observe, as Roberts did, that Roe is the law of the land is not to do what Mr. Sheen did, i.e., to contend that the abortion is not a wrong of the kind the law should prevent or discourage.