"I'm just trying to do the right thing here. For me. For everyone, I guess."
-- Cassie Steele as Manny Santos in "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
In the year 2000, over 1.3 million abortions [World Almanac] were performed in the United States. It is questionable if two were mentioned on mainstream television shows or movies. It consistently amazes me how network television is deemed to lean liberal, be stocked with characters who are clearly pro-choice (one, Elaine Bennis wouldn't date any one else), but the "a" word is rarely, if ever used.
I recall during the story line of the controversial decision of Murphy Brown to (don't be shocked now) have her baby that Faith Ford's character made a passing joke about how "back home in Louisiana" pro-choice was basically a dirty word. The joke's follow through was pretty uncomfortable, and it was a throwaway line. Brown's decision to have her child was predictable really, since even those who might not be in a position where having a child would be a great thing were sure to have the child anyway.* A child in fact tends to be seen as a great plot device. This reflects our culture's support of children, though it is a support that is only shown in selective ways.
The few times abortions were done it seems that they were deemed dirty little things. The choice itself was seen as perfectly fine by a pro-choice doctor in Picket Fences, a positive mention that is worth mentioning even though the teen had her child. The women in Sex in The City, freespirited sorts (though interestingly in a way somewhat conservative), spoke of their abortions as sad, troubled choices. The doctor in Everwood went to church after performing an abortion to apologize for his "sin." In fact, teen pregnancy is a major plot point on many WB shows.
So, it is not so remarkable that Noggin Network is wary about showing an episode of a popular Canadian teenage soap opera in which a popular character has an abortion, and is basically not sorry for choosing to do so. Perhaps, Manny should submit a story to this website, joining many others who decided that abortion might be the best of a bad situation.
I don't blame the network too much since it is meant for teenagers, and many younger teens probably watch some of the evening programming. Still, I hope it relents, since it did air episodes about sexuality, self-abuse (cutting), date rape, and many other mature topics. After all, something like one in five abortions are performed on people under eighteen. And, who knows ... U.S. mainstream entertainment in general might actually have the courage to deal with the issue as well.
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* I admit that I don't know how the issue is handled on Lifetime these days, though the network does sometimes have a pretty traditional point of view. I was watching one of their sometimes addictive (if often lame and trite) movies, Sex & the Single Mom, though the fact Gail O'Grady played the mom helps to suggest why. The single mom got pregnant and thought nothing of keeping the baby, even though it would interfere with her job and going to law school. Or, perhaps not, through the fantasy of Lifetime utopia.
[Update: link added to opening quote]