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

[Greythorne]

without:

A) changing her mind at the clinic doors as "she just can't do that"

B) receiving some (medically unlikely but dramatically "satisfactory") kind of divine retribution like infertility as a consequence?

I can't. And yet thousands of women make the decision to have an abortion every year and it is absolutely the right decision and they do not regret it.

Ages ago in Eastenders there was a family who aborted a baby likely to have sickle cell. I think an older child resented this as he had the condition, but the family as a whole felt it was the right thing to do.

Jane Tenison in Prime Suspect.

The journalist in Borgen, um, Katrine Fønsmark, says IMDB.

If these walls could talk. Had Cher in it as someone mentioned above.

Not to diminish the points made, but Martha in Silk miscarried. And then promptly went on to win a case. So it's sort of both A and B.

Bianca in EE (foetal abnormality).

And Natasha in Corrie

Claire in Six Feet Under (2003 ish)

she asked Brenda to drive her there, and it showed the clinic/waiting room, the counselling beforehand, the other women waiting...she was given a sedative which made her woozy, she changed into a gown with cap for the procedure, they showed the operating room, etc. and then when Claire woke up properly, she was given more meds and went home with Brenda, who made sure she was OK (scenes of being sick etc.)

I think it was very unusual for nearly a decade ago, on primetime US TV.

the journalist in 'Borgen'

Just realised how that post sounded. I mean that she planned on an abortion, decided against it and then miscarried so she was sort of punished for even considering it. Her winning the case had nothing to do with it except that I don't think most women would be able to do that after a miscarriage.

In theWest Wing Glenn Close discusses her decision to have an abortion with no regret and the whole conversation is measured, sensible and her choice is viewed as the right one for her.
It's a brilliant scene. That whole episode is fab.

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.

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.

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?

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.

*too.

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.

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

but he knows he screwed up rather than blaming her.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Ria
Hilary Van Doren in Fame! Yes! I remember her! She did have an abortion, showed her at the clinic with tears rolling down her faces as she explained her (totally understandable) reasons to an entirely untouched hospital admin person, who just asks, 'cash or cheque?'

I had forgotten her.

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