Can anyone recall any storyline in film / TV where a woman decides to have an abortion......

There's also Vera Drake, not quite the same but it did highlight that abortions are ok if you're richy rich (and have a mad aunt )

Cold Feet was one of the vey worst examples as she had an abortion, then was told her infertility was a direct consequence of that and then, because the actress got pregnant IRL, they then made her have a miracle pregnancy as well. Crap.

I just caught up with Mrs Biggs. Not fiction I know but she has an illegal abortion and moves on

Pretty sure Amelie didn't have an abortion think she was trying to wind her dad up. (i think)

Cold Feet had the abortion/infertility plot

Kit Porter was her name

Pam Grier's character in The L Word (long running American tv show few years back based on a group of mostly lesbian women) has an abortion when she gets pregnant to her much younger bf. she has an adult child she has a difficult relationship with. They make the decision and move on. It was a v sad storyline but I thought it was dealt with quite realistically.

There is quite a lot of academic research on this - from memory the most 'liberal' period was early 1970's US television where characters like Maude in 'All in the Family' were depicted having abortions. Other than that I think daytime soaps were also the most groundbreaking in their depiction of abortion, gay story lines etc.

Oh I remembered one! The psychiatrist in The Departed after she finds out the truth about her DP and finishes with him. Not discussed, just obvious from later interaction and very matter of fact.

Claire in six feet under had one in a really early episode

Leanne and Maria in Corrie too - think that makes four over the last fifteen years or so given the others mentioned upthread.

I can't remember any right now but just want to say that I like this thread very much.

I think the ballet dancer in Fame had one? That's the only one I could think of though.

I remember Michelle in Eastenders telling someone (Sonia?) she'd been pregnant twice and once she'd had an abortion as that was the right thing to do and the other time she had the baby as that was the right thing to do - very calm and matter of fact.

Oops, meant to link to the film, you can read a review of "Obvious Child" and watch it here. It's about 20 minutes long I think, and I might re-watch it. I remember it being rather indie but quite charming. Obvious Child

There's a really quite good short film called "Obvious Child" starring Jenny Slate which has a positive view of abortion.

plot is basically:
boy dumps girl
girl is sad, spends time with her friends, gets over it,
girl hooks up with another boy on night out. (I seem to recall it's shown that condoms are used, but I can't remember now)
girl finds herself pregnant, organizes abortion, talks to her mum on the phone about what a bummer it is to deal with. Mum is sympathetic, talks about her own abortion in the 70s.
girl re-meets rebound boy on way to abortion clinic, tells him matter-of-factly what's going on.
Rebound boy is supportive and lovely. Girl has abortion, which is shown as uncomfortable but not really a huge deal.
Tentative possible romance between rebound-boy and girl left as film ends.

I remember being just amazed by how (1) the situation is exactly what I or any of my friends would have done, which - let's face it, TV rarely is and (2) abortion is portrayed as what it is: a legal medical procedure which women who don't want to be pregnant can use to stop being pregnant. A bummer, sure, but a bummer like going to the dentist is a bummer.

It's very rare for nowadays. Oddly, I think TV/Movies have become more conservative about abortion. But then, America has become a lot more conservative about abortion (and almost everything!) in the last 20-30 years. I think it's pretty unlikely Roe v. Wade would actually pass now.

And there's no regret about the abortion afterwards in High Fidelity, in fact in the film (can't remember whether it's the same in the book) he is embarrassed and honest about having been a dick to her, "my baby too" blah blah, admitting that he was wrong and unfair to do so.

Shockingly few though, aren't there? Dirty Dancing is probably the best.

I agree with LRD - I didn't see it as boasting by Sanantha.

Yeah in high fidelity she has an abortion because he cheats??

but he knows he screwed up rather than blaming her.

What about The Cider House Rules? Very clear-sighted understanding, non-judgemental about unwanted pregnancy. It's not cosy - "an orphan or an abortion" - but it accepts that for many women it is the right decision. Film not as clear about it as the book, but still good.

*too.

YY, I was going to say SATC two. And Samantha starts into the conversation with 'Well, I've had two. How many have you had Carrie?', and it's presented as something Samantha is neither shy about discussing nor upset about.

But I disagree she was boasting - I think she just had a role both in the fictional group and in the TV series as breaking lots of taboos so that the other women could talk openly about things without being the ones who broke the taboo. It was the same with vibrators/enjoying sex with lots of men, IIRC. That was what her character was there for.

Yes Bianca in EE had a quite late abortion because the baby had spina bifida- I remember it so clearly, Ricky was saying hiw they didnt want to spend their lives in and out of hospital. She got to hold the baby afterwards and named her. I dont remember it ever being referred to later on though.

I remember Selina in H&A was going to get an abortion but then miscarried, same as Julia (neve campbell) in party of five. Phoebe in Neighbours, around the same time also was in the clinic but then Todd was run over by a car on the way to stop her so she changed her mind. Why are these 'change their mind' storylines so common?

As for SATC- I remember Sam almost boasting that she'd had 2, which I found a bit distasteful (I am pro choice btw) and Carrie mulling over whether her decision had been for the best in hindsight. She decided it was.

Didnt Lucy in Dallas have an abortion after she was raped?

Elizabeth in The Archers.
She went on to marry Charles Bingley a lovely chap and had twins. Lovey chap died but that was many years later.
Her 'divine retribution' is that she is a bit of a cow.

just to say, it was portrayed as the right decision, absolutely...her twatty boyfriend slept with their (male) art teacher...and she was only 18 or so.