The writers of ABC's hit show "Scandal" are no strangers to incorporating real-life events into the show's storylines. Earlier this year, the episode "The Lawn Chair" focused on the killing of a young black man by a white police officer, obviously inspired by the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
That episode faced criticism from fans and the press about its neat, uncomplicated handling of an extremely contentious situation. This week, however, ABC, executive producer Shonda Rhimes, and the rest of her writing staff won widespread acclaim for one brief scene in the show's latest episode, "Baby, It's Cold Outside."
Main character Olivia Pope was shown having an abortion, the first time the procedure has been shown on network television.
Both the show's characters and viewers were unaware Olivia was pregnant. There was no discussion of the procedure, either beforehand or after. No scenes of Olivia agonizing over the decision to end her pregnancy. Instead, viewers see the procedure being performed as it's done in real life.
This scene comes after Sen. Mellie Grant delays the Senate's Christmas break by a whole day as she filibusters to prevent the passing of a congressional spending bill that would eventually lead to the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Mellie's actions were reminiscent of Texas Sen. Wendy Davis' 11 hour filibuster back in 2013 to kill a bill that would have closed nearly all of the abortion clinics in the state of Texas. The defunding of Planned Parenthood, of course, has become a huge political issue over the past few months.
Anti-abortion groups were already up in arms with both Rhimes and ABC over the Planned Parenthood storyline, but Olivia's scene pushed them over the edge. One conservative news site called the episode "sick" and said it was "an advertisement for Planned Parenthood."
But as some sites have pointed out, what was especially important about this abortion was that it was not a choice made by a scared teenager who lacked the means to care for a child. Olivia Pope is wealthy and powerful, and her child would have been born into the lap of luxury. She had every resource available to her thats necessary raising a child. She just didn't want to have a child.
Because Olivia's abortion was not discussed, we do not know exactly why she made the decision to end her pregnancy. Later in the episode, she breaks up with her boyfriend, President Fitzgerald Grant, so that absolutely could have factored into her decision. However, she may have decided she simply didn't want a child. Despite this being a perfectly good reason for a woman to have an abortion, many people still don't see it that way.
Kudos to Shonda Rhimes for using her show as a vehicle to make brave, bold statements, no matter how controversial they may be. Kudos to ABC, for understanding the importance of this message and not shying away from the inevitable backlash.
For more information about Planned Parenthood and its services, including abortions, please visit https://www.plannedparenthood.org.
