Born Again
by Rebecca Raber
It seems like everyone in TV land is pregnant these days. All of those plot-pushing hookups that keep us tuned in week after week have resulted in positive pregnancy tests for Housewives and high schoolers on every channel. This is often an unwelcome surprise, but none of these fictional characters, unlike their real-world counterparts who might agonize over the choice to have a baby, will choose to end their pregnancies. In fact, we might as well be living in an era before Roe v. Wade as far as TV is concerned. Characters these days rarely even say the word abortion when confronted with an unplanned pregnancy—let alone have one.
Given the current political climate, it's not surprising that a medium so dependent on advertisers would shy away from depicting one of the most fraught life choices a woman can make. But even as once taboo gay characters permeate not only fuzzily liberal shows like Will & Grace, but also the more red-state-centric world of soap operas (three years after coming out as a lesbian, All My Children's Bianca shared the first girl-girl kiss on a daytime drama in 2003), abortion is the last topic that network television won't explore.
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Not surprisingly, the only time abortion makes a regular appearance on the major networks is when it is discussed as an "idea." The fictional political candidates on shows like The West Wing freely discuss their views (though their recent live presidential debate eschewed the topic altogether since both candidates on this liberal fantasy show are pro-choice). You will be hard-pressed, however, to find an episode where C.J. or one of the president's daughters admits to actually having an abortion herself. In this way, writers can feel brave for delving into a taboo subject without having to stand behind their political convictions. The implication is that talking about and debating over abortion is OK, having one is not.
The most shocking thing about television's self-imposed censorship on the issue of abortion—especially in this anything-goes age where networks gleefully broadcast programming in which people eat bugs for money or undergo graphic surgeries—is that the industry actually used to be braver. Exactly 33 years ago this week on Norman Lear's Maude, Bea Arthur's title character, a married woman in her forties with a grown daughter, had an abortion. The episode aired three months before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide, but Hollywood (and in particular, the button-pushing Lear) wasn't afraid of the controversial topic. Strangely, now that the policies affected by Roe are 32 years old and should be considered the status quo, a character (let alone a married adult) would never have an abortion on a network show. That conservative sway in the culture, the one that found evangelical Harriet Miers not pro-life enough for the high court, has left trailblazing Maude with no one following her.
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http://villagevoice.com/news/0546,raber,70023,6.html
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