Real Depictions of Abortion on TV
There’s something so powerful about seeing your own story on screen. Relating to a character on TV can be profoundly validating. After all, it feels damn good to be seen. But when it comes to abortion, representations in film and television have historically missed the mark. For a procedure so common (nearly 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will have an abortion by age 45), it’s a shame there aren’t more portrayals that help us form a realistic picture of this complex process.
Here’s the good news! Recently, there’s been a positive trend toward more representative experiences of abortion in popular media. Not only are more women of color given a platform (although still not nearly enough), emotions beyond judgement and shame are explored in some depth too. Strong women with courage and conviction? We truly love to see it!
So, if you’re looking for a way to understand abortion from a number of angles, we’ve got you covered. After searching high and low for nuanced experiences, we landed on a few episodes that we think are particularly poignant. Some we like because they highlight refreshingly supportive environments or provide an important historical context. Others we like because they examine the impact abortion can have on our closest relationships. But most of all, they’re real, they’re raw, and yeah, sometimes they’re even a little bit funny. That’s life. And that’s abortion.
It’s also important to acknowledge that while there are plenty of abortion narratives on TV worth showcasing, there’s still a long way to go in the media before the stigmas are broken all the way down. In the future, we hope to see an expansion of depictions of womxn of color as well as more storylines featuring queer, non-binary, and trans people as protagonists. The more we can do to create a blueprint for uplifting people who get abortions, the better. Plus, if TV can help shift our cultural perceptions of who is getting abortions, why they’re getting abortions, and what abortion care actually looks like, then restrictive policies and barriers to access can begin to be addressed more adequately. Now that’s progress!
Grab some popcorn and a handful of tissues, just to be safe. Let’s be real, what else are you going to do with your weekend during quarantine? Without further ado here are our favorite recent portrayals of abortion on TV.
The Bold Type: Season 3, Episode 4, “The Deep End”
Victoria: I absolutely love this show and this episode (the entire season, actually) solidified this as one of my top tv shows. First off, I think it’s so important that they chose to write this abortion storyline for Kat–a queer Black woman–instead of one of the many white women characters. Hearing her share her story with her closest friends–Sutton and Jane, it’s clear that Kat knew what was best for her at the time, felt secure in her decision, and had a great support system while undergoing the procedure. And Sutton and Jane respond with nothing but empathy and acceptance. They don’t judge Kat for waiting so long to share her story, they create a safe space for her to express all her emotions, and they validate her feelings and experience.
This is not the only abortion story we’ll hear this episode. Kat decides to share her story (again) with her friend Tia and the show takes this opportunity to shine a spotlight on another queer Black woman’s experience having an abortion. Tia’s experience provides a sharp contrast to Kat’s. Tia experienced a lot of shame and secrecy from her community around her decision, leading her to turn to the first abortion resource she could find. Unfortunately, that resource turned out to be an anti-abortion counseling center that caused Tia to feel even more abortion stigma. By the time she does receive actual comprehensive medical help, she is already scarred by the experience of being bombarded by anti-abortion propaganda.
These two stories reveal just how much abortion stigma and barriers to access impact someone’s experience getting an abortion, even when both people have similar backgrounds. Storytelling is such a powerful tool for dismantling institutionalized abortion stigma, especially when it is used to uplift the lived experiences of those most impacted by abortion stigma. While we have been seeing more nuanced portrayals of abortion in the media in recent years, The Bold Type has provided one of the best representations by showing queer Black women sharing their personal abortion stories and portraying them as whole human beings leading nuanced lives.
Sex Education: Season 1, Episode 3, “Episode 3”
Kate: The writers of Sex Education handle the portrayal of Maeve’s abortion well in several ways. First, not once did Maeve doubt her own choice about her own body. In her initial appointment, Maeve confidently answers the nurse’s questions of whether or not she’s considered other options, assuring her that yes, this is what she wants to do. And not once does she allow stigma to stand in her way. She has a hard time asking someone to attend the appointment with her (as required by the clinic), not because she’s doubting her choice, but for fear of judgement. Second, she breezes past protesters outside the clinic. The inclusion of the protesters in the scene is necessary and accurate, and Maeve’s disregard of them is empowering. Not only did they portray Maeve’s abortion well, they also skillfully represented the experience of the other women in the clinic. One character worth mentioning in particular is Sarah — a middle-aged woman who befriends Maeve in the waiting room. The two chat post-operation and Sarah shares with Maeve that she already has several children (which is true for most people who get abortions), and admits that she regrets the children she’s had more than the ones she hasn’t. This is a candid, myth-busting line that completely alters the image we have been fed of women regretting their abortions.
Even though the scene is handled well overall, there is room for improvement, of course. The most notable area for improvement here would be the [lack of] representation of people of color. There is one person of color shown in the waiting room in this episode, but that’s it. That’s not okay. Womxn of color deserve to be, need to be, and should be, centered in stories of all kinds — including abortion stories.
Meghan: Sex Education follows a group of high school students navigating many different sexual misadventures. Maeve, a sarcastic social outcast, becomes pregnant early on in season one and decides to get an abortion. Sex Education shows where the portrayal of abortion in media should keep going. From the professional staff at the abortion clinic to the pro-life protestors outside of the clinic, Sex Education illustrates a very realistic experience of someone seeking an abortion. Maeve’s decision to have an abortion after an unplanned pregnancy was not theatrical; it just was her reality. This representation in the show makes the audience aware that the decision to have an abortion is a commonly shared experience and it should not be sensationalized.
One way Sex Education could have furthered the thought of demystifying abortion would have been to show the procedure; helping to get rid of stigma by showing that abortion is fast and safe. Her abortion is not focused on the rest of the series which shows that, for Maeve and many others, abortion does not have long lasting physical or emotional implications. Maeve has her abortion and moves on with her life; it is not the end of her world.
Mrs. America: Season 1, Episode 2, “Gloria”
Gabi: The new show on Hulu chronicles feminism in the 1970s, the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment and the conservative movement to stop it. All the show’s leading characters are women, and each episode follows one of the women involved in the movement. It highlights the movement’s marginalization of black women, and lesbians, but works to amplify the voices and celebrate the victories of women like Shirley Chisholm.
Since the story follows women’s liberation, it would be impossible to write a good show without talking about abortion. Episode 2, “Gloria” follows Gloria Steinem. At one point, we get a flashback of a young Gloria about to get an abortion. The doctor who performs the operation laid down two rules: don’t tell anyone his name and “do what you want to do with your life.” While much of the show’s dialogue is fictionalized, the experience with the abortion doctor is based on Steinem’s account of her abortion, as written in her memoir “My Life on the Road.”
The character is meanwhile fighting for the legalization of abortion, always quick to point out how marginalized women are dying due to unsafe abortions. Sadly, its a reminder of our current day system, and how abortion will always be accessible for privileged women, but difficult for poor folks and people of color.
So far, each of the 6 episodes has had some sort of reference to abortion, including dry humor as an anti-choice activist crumples a red rose in her hands. If you’ve ever been curious about why it was so difficult to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, or just wanna see some great 70’s clothes, I highly recommend trying Mrs. America.
Orange is the New Black: Season 7, Episode 11, “God Bless America”
Karen: Orange is the New Black addressed various social issues every episode and the final season of OITNB, although quite different from those previous, did just that. The seventh and final season of the show began to tackle the issues of private immigration detention centers and how abortion rights are easily destroyed while in detention. This episode is significant because it depicts the barriers that migrant women in detention face from their immigration status to translation issues and denial of their requests. It also highlights an important truth; barriers to abortion do not prevent womxn from seeking abortion, but instead prevents them from being able to get an abortion safely and in a timely manner.
In the episode, a Guatemalan migrant, Santos Chaj, deals with an unwanted pregnancy that resulted from a rape. However, her attempts to tell the guards she would like an abortion are destroyed as she only speaks K’iche’, a Mayan language. Without access to a translator, Chaj decides to attempt to self-terminate her pregnancy using an herbal tea remedy. After this failed attempt and with the help of a translator, Chaj finally communicates her need for an abortion but ICE denies her request. This is a reality for thousands of womxn being held in detention facilities. And although ICE allows abortion in cases of rape, incest, or harm to a womxn’s life, migrant women can have difficulties proving a rape, communicating their needs, and like the case of Chaj being approved access. These detention facilities rarely face accountability for denying womxn their rights and unfortunately ICE facilities are at an advantage as many undocumented womxn are not even aware of their abortion rights.
At the end of the episode, the Warden sneaks an abortion pill from her own IVF doctor into the center and passes it along to Chaj. This episode shows the audience the structural violence that womxn face while crossing the border and the continuum of that violence once they reach their destination.
Jane the Virgin: Season 3, Episode 2, “Chapter Forty-Six”
Gabi: I had started watching Jane the Virgin years ago, but had to stop because I felt too uncomfortable. I mean, what teenaged girl wouldn’t be terrified to get pregnant without having sex? I was relating to Jane’s character wayyyy too much. Coming back 6 years later, with a much healthier understanding of sex, I was able to enjoy the show throughly.
In Chapter Forty-Six, Xiomara (Jane’s mom) resolves the plot line around breaking up with her boyfriend, a one night stand, and an unplanned pregnancy. The audience is told, without a doubt, she had a medical abortion. This was the first depiction of a Latina woman experiencing abortion on Network television. It’s important to note that the show did not shy away from the simple facts of abortion; Xiomara, Jane’s mom, wanted an abortion, and she had one.
The episode then revolves around Gloria, (Jane’s grandmother,) finding out Xiomara had an abortion. Gloria asks her daughter about her stomach cramps, and although she first lies, Xiomara eventually tells her mom about the abortion. Gloria is finally able to move past the Xiomara’s abortion, and the pair takes on a home renovation project together.
Gloria is one of my favorite characters, and she is the matriarch of the family, always there for her granddaughter and daughter. Gloria had previously encouraged Jane (the Virgin) and Xiomara (as a teenager) to consider abortion as an option, but the reality of abortion is different for Gloria. As much as I would have loved to see Gloria immediately embrace her daughter with love and support, the resistance and conflict around the abortion makes the storyline stronger. Many women will never share their abortion story with their mother, especially when she has a different viewpoint.
Euphoria: Season 1, Episode 8, “And Salt the Earth Behind You”
Liv: In a show that addresses addiction, transphobia, homophobia, racism, poverty, abuse, assault, intimate partner violence, self-harm, and death, a teenage girl seeking an abortion is shown as just another part of life. Cassie gets pregnant with her boyfriend McKay who tells her that she should get an abortion, which shatters their already rocky relationship. After a series of flashbacks that show her dad leaving their family and eventually struggling with addiction, Cassie eventually decides that she doesn’t want her child to have a similar fate, saying “I just wanted to dream about it for a minute.” She opens up to her mom, who tells Cassie she loves her, and drives with her mom and sister to the clinic. Her mom starts to go with Cassie to the intake office but Cassie decides to get the procedure by herself, with her mom’s support. The abortion scenes, interspersed with scenes of Cassie later having fun with her friends at prom, are somber and sterile but also hopeful. Cassie performs an ice skating routine in a dream-like sequence that recalls her dad’s wish for her to be a professional ice skater. She may not be a professional ice skater, but she’s on her way to living a life where her dreams do come true.
The most powerful aspect of this storyline for me is how nonjudgmental and loving Cassie’s mom is throughout her abortion. Most states require parental notification or permission if a minor wants to get an abortion, unless they seek a judicial bypass. Confessing to your parents that you’re sexually active is daunting enough, but I imagine that the prospect of having to tell a parent that you want an abortion is terrifying. The love and compassion that Cassie’s mom shows is consistent but never overwhelming, giving Cassie the autonomy and support she deserves during this decision.
Dear White People: Season 2, Episode 4, Chapter IV
Meg: Dear White People is a great show in general and constantly confronts topical and relevant issues in a gripping and informative way. In the second season, we get to see one of the main characters, Coco Conners, grappling with the important decision of whether to continue an unexpected pregnancy. The incredible thing about this episode of Dear White People is not only that it centers the pregnant person making the decision to end a pregnancy, but that it centers a Black woman. Coco is a powerful and driven young woman in the middle of her college career holding leadership positions and aspiring to accomplish great things in her life. When she suddenly discovers that she is pregnant, we watch her consider her own life and if it would even be possible to sustain another one. She considers that the father is in no place to, well, be a father. She considers the life that she had planned for herself, her dreams and aspirations. She considers motherhood.
The audience travels with Coco to an abortion clinic where she is wrestling with the decision to end her pregnancy, it is clear that she is not taking the decision lightly. Abortion opposition sometimes claims that women use abortion as birth control which is simply not true and people do not make this decision carelessly. Her roommate, a Black lesbian woman (hello representation), supports her the whole way, even in the moment she decides not to go through with the abortion. This is so important because having a non-judgmental support system is a significant part of accessing abortion care and is not talked about enough. Most people know and/or love someone who has had an abortion, and community acknowledgement of this healthcare plays a major role in the destigmatization of abortion. We are fast-forwarded to Coco’s future and we meet her daughter. We see Coco loving this young woman and wanting all the things for her daughter that she had wanted for herself.
Then we are transported back to the waiting room at the clinic, the future was hypothetical. For this dream to become a reality, Coco would have had to overcome centuries of systemic oppression and marginalization compounded in Black motherhood. She knows that because of this persistent history, safe and healthy parenting is an unattainable dream for many Black women in the United States. Coco’s face has changed to one of conviction as her name is called and she joins the nurses to end her pregnancy. She is a Black woman who knows what is best for her life and her body and was lucky enough to access the care that she needs and have support doing it. At one point in the episode she declares “I came here to take everything the world denied my mother and dared to deny me” (00:19:45). She will not be denied her future and her own bodily autonomy.
GLOW: Season 1, Episode 8, “Maybe It’s All the Disco”
Glenn: In the opening episode of Netflix’s GLOW, viewers learn that aspiring actress Ruth has had an affair with her best friend’s husband. Over the course of the season, they both come to regret it. When Ruth realizes her period is late, she takes an absurdly complicated 80s at-home pregnancy test (multiple test tubes are involved), waits thirty (!) minutes, and gets a positive result. She makes an appointment to get an abortion at Planned Parenthood the following morning.
Ruth calls Sam, the snarky but ultimately good-hearted director of the television show she’s been cast in, to drive her to the clinic. To lighten the mood, Sam cracks wry jokes as they sit in the waiting room. I really appreciate the show’s use of humor in these moments, as it highlights the beauty of a support system and makes the clinic experience less sterile and more human. In a brief moment of seriousness, Sam asks Ruth if she is sure she wants an abortion. She answers simply, “Yeah. It’s not the right time. Not the right baby.” In the exam room, the provider performing the abortion asks once more whether she’s comfortable with her decision. She confirms she is, and the procedure begins.
The confidence with which Ruth makes her decision is refreshing. While it’s true that abortion is a difficult decision for some people, for many others, it’s not. So many abortions in the media are depicted as devastating, but in reality, the number one feeling reported after an abortion is relief. In the following episodes, we see Ruth free to re-focus on pursuing her passion.
Veep: Season 1, Episode 7, “Full Disclosure”
Liv: Something that I appreciate about Veep is that it treats absolutely everything with often jaw-dropping irreverence. That’s why I loved this depiction of abortion; it was no different than how it treats any other topic. Amy gets pregnant after a one-night stand with Dan and, after several days of deliberation, realizes that she doesn’t want to have a child with him because he would be an awful partner/parent (as evidenced by him sleeping with her sister, who was supposed to support her during her abortion). After eviscerating the gaggle of protestors outside the abortion clinic, Amy confidently confirms to the doctor that yes, she wants an abortion and no, she doesn’t want to see the ultrasound while Dan looks at the D&E machine and says, “Is that the Berkeley VC10? ’Cause that’s the Shelby Cobra GT of vag vacs!” Amy later starts to wonder if she made a mistake but almost immediately gets offered the job of campaign manager to a flailing political campaign, which she takes, saying that her schedule just got “scraped clean.”
What I thought was impactful about this portrayal of abortion is that the viewer sees Amy’s thought process of whether or not she wants an abortion, but the narrative is never pitying or overly dramatic. You also see Dan support her when she says she wants an abortion, then changes her mind, then changes her mind back. He even offers to pay Amy half of the cost of the abortion on Venmo, but tells Amy to make it public so that he looks like a “good guy” (which does undermine the gesture). While the show portrays getting an abortion as a relatively easy process (which is not true for most people!), it also does bring up Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP) laws, like a mandatory waiting period and the offer to see an ultrasound. Overall it seemed like an accurate representation of how someone like Amy (white, financially stable, career-focused) would have gotten an abortion.
To view more abortion storylines and plots in film and TV, you can search the Abortion Onscreen database here: https://bit.ly/2WMRszR
