Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in our society today; especially with recent movements to defund Planned Parenthood. Despite being a more popular topic among political movements, it is not an issue that is widely discussed or heavily portrayed in pop culture. That is until last week’s episode of "Scandal" which showed the main character, Olivia Pope, single-handedly make the choice to have an abortion while another character participated in a filibuster to save Planned Parenthood's funding. It brings the issue of reproductive health to the forefront. From a political perspective it takes a very pro-choice stance.
The show is now receiving both praise and backlash over the episode, which was to be expected. Why is everyone talking about this episode, though? What is it that makes this depiction of abortion so noteworthy? Abortion has been represented on television before. In "Sex and the City," Miranda is shown to make the last minute decision not to have an abortion and instead she chooses to go through with the pregnancy and raise her child. In "Friday Night Lights," Becky, a high school student, decides to have an abortion after becoming pregnant, feeling as though she can’t take care of a baby. And her way of thinking makes sense; her character lives in a trailer in rural Texas and is the daughter of a bartender single mother. Even "Scandal" has previously portrayed an abortion when a Navy woman is raped and decides to end the pregnancy. So, what makes this episode of "Scandal" so different?
The answer is that this episode is more scandalous and complex than any other episode before. In most cases, where abortion is actually represented, the character either chooses to go through with it due to some sort of outside factor or chooses to not go through with it at all. Olivia Pope is a woman who could easily care for a baby, either by herself or with hired help. She was impregnated by a man she loves and who loves her; a man who has dreamed of having children with her. Even if the pregnancy was unplanned, it was not forced upon her. She has the ability to take care of a child, but decides not to. Unlike Becky from "Friday Night Lights," Olivia has all the resources needed to care for a child, but resources are not an issue here. There is no outside factor that makes Olivia feel like she needs to have an abortion. Here, she decides that even though she could handle having a baby, she does not want to. And that is why this episode has caused such a stir. It shows a whole other explanation as to why women choose to have abortions.
Both pro-life and pro-choice advocates have spoken out. Planned Parenthood released a statement saying “… And this episode wasn't the first time one of Rhimes' characters had an abortion, yet tonight we saw one of our favorite characters make the deeply personal decision that one in three women have made in their lifetime… We just hope those in Congress -- and throughout the nation -- who are steadfast on rolling the clock back on reproductive health care access are taking note.”
On the other side, conservative group Media Research Council stated, “The entire hour was an advertisement for Planned Parenthood, but the absolute worst scene was a montage set to the Christmas hymn "Silent Night," a song that celebrates the birth of Christ, while main character Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) has an abortion, killing her and the president's baby."
So, what does this mean? Only time will tell, but based on the internet’s response, abortion is still just as polarizing of an issue as it was before, with the episode being both celebrated and condemned. The opinion is split pretty evenly down the middle between pro-choice and pro-life advocates. But one thing is clear: "Scandal" has marked itself as pro-choice and has gone out of its way to prove that abortion is a normal and acceptable choice for women, no matter the circumstances.
