And then there is "Grey's Anatomy"

[question everything]

I like the program, like the Sandra Oh character - Dr. Cristina Yang. A no nonsense surgical intern who is all facts and action. No time for emotion, or guilt feeling or even scruples.

So she finds herself pregnant and, being the goal minded person she immediately sets appointment to terminate the pregnancy, even arguing with the requirement to educate her about the growing fetus, etc. I know all this, she says.

And, no she is not telling the father who, as an ambitious surgeon himself is encouraged by the chief surgeon that this is what being a chief surgeon is all about: no time for personal life, involvement. So he curtly terminates their budding relationship. "Like it was business," she moans.

And then, the writers and ABC solved this without offending any of the religious monsters: she had a miscarriage. Lost the fetus and one fallopian tube.

I think that "Maud" is the only major character on TV since Roe v. Wade who actually terminated her pregnancy, on prime time.

[tallahasseedem]

1. So what?

The other storyline actually worked better enabling Dr. Burke to find out.

[jeanarrett]

2. I missed Sunday's episode. What happened?

[SoCalDem]

3. The loss of the tube and the pregnancy was a "punishment"

for being "dirty".. Now she may have future fertility issues because she "sinned" and concieved before marriage..:sarcasm:??

[stanwyck]

4. that storyline also bothered me

Americans don't like to admit that abortions happen every day in our country. Women who we know and like end their pregnancies. For a multitude of reasons.
I remember Helen Mirren's character on her Prime Suspect series ended her pregnancy. She made the phone call. And carried through. I'm not saying that has to be the decision.
I'm just saying that the BBC was more honest and less cowardly than our network TV.

[SoCalDem]

5. In "real life", only a few trusted friends & family members ever even know

If a true-to-life storyline had been followed, she would have just taken her closest friend with her, and had it..and that would have been it..

Of course television has to inject "morality" into every controversial issue, so they can cover their asses and be able to argue to anyone who complains...that they agonized of the issue, and tried to show all sides...

[stanwyck]

6. You're so right

and I am so tired of how wimpy our TV shows are with the insipid approach you've described. The scriptwriters bend themselves into pretzels coming up with the most benign, and boring, resolution to every scenario. The least likely to offend.
Too many of our journalists have become mealy-mouthed apologists for the Bushies...they're afraid of not having access.
And now our entertainment writers/directors/producers don't have the stomach for controversy.
Cowardly little prigs.

[Left Is Write]

14. You're probably right.

Earlier this year, a character on Days Of Our Lives had an abortion and never told her boyfriend that she'd even been pregnant. Later, she developed a post-abortion infection that rendered her infertile. Later still, her boyfriend found out from someone else that she'd had an abortion and lied about it. Result? She can never have children and the man she loved left her in disgust.

I don't know that I have ever seen an abortion storyline with a positive ending.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

15. WTF?! Christ, the teenager in "Fast Times @ Ridgemont High" had one (an

abortion), and that was in the EIGHTIES fer Chrissakes!

This country is just doomed...

[miss_kitty]

8. That's exactly how I saw it

Disney/CapCities fundy shite.

[MountainLaurel]

9. That was my impression as well

It was the first time I'd watched the show, and that twist left a really bad taste in my mouth.

[flamingyouth]

7. I know - I can't think of another character who had an abortion either.

Which is sad, given that that show was on more than 30 years ago.

On edit - Manny on "Degrassi: The Next Generation" had an abortion, but that's not an American TV show. :shrug:

[Divameow77]

10. I really like the show

and in a way I like that she didn't go through it without telling him, and then he found out (soap opera like) because now they can get it on, I don't see him being okay with it if she had done it behind his back.
They could have told the story about them going through an abortion together though.

[SoCalDem]

11. The issue the show should be exploring is:

Why the "men in charge" seem so eager to get into the pants of their students...and why it's "no big deal"..when in "real-life" they would be in some trouble

[Divameow77]

12. Well the students are all hot.

Okay j/k, I do agree with you.

My favorite characters are Christina & George.

Who thinks that Shepard is going to go back to his wife?

[hopein08]

13. Same thing happening on the soap opera I watch sometimes...

On "General Hospital", the rich Aussie, Jax, and his wife Courtney (the mobster's sister) couldn't have a baby so they decided to pay Liz, a struggling young mother, to be a surrogate. She planned to use the money to pay off her boyfriend's medical bills. Anyhow, Jax got super paranoid that Liz and her boyfriend would get married and it would be considered their baby since Liz used her egg. Anyway, since it is a soap, just about everybody broke up with each for strange reasons but it got fully right-wing when Liz decided to fight for sole custody on the basis that she and her boyfriend would be married and since Jax and Courtney were divorcing...the baby HAD to be brought up by two parents. Jax argued that he could love a baby enough but the show was having none of that. Jax and Liz ended up in a car accident and Liz lost the baby the next day. All problems erased...

Pretty much turned me off the show.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

16. This virtually guarantees that I will NEVER EVER watch that show.