From Dirty Dancing to GLOW: How abortion on screen has changed

Scandal. Still image via ABC

Scandal (2015)

When Olivia Pope gets pregnant with President Fitz’s baby, the news just so happens to coincide with a bill that seeks to cut funding from Planned Parenthood. (Sound familiar?) His ex-wife Mellie successfully filibusters the bill. Olivia supports the filibuster, secretly opposing Fitz and his staff. Then she breaks things off with him and eventually gets an abortion herself.

Scandal has a knack for integrating current political drama in its otherwise overdramatized world. Dropping a bill to defund Planned Parenthood into the mix is a brilliant move on Shonda Rhimes’ part because it enforces the fact that yes, Planned Parenthood provides abortion services. In fact, they provide them for Olivia Pope. However, the organization also provides hundreds of other vital services to all kinds of people, not just pregnant ones.

The abortion scene itself is incredibly short. There are no words spoken. “Silent Night” plays in the background while Olivia lays on an operating table. She undergoes the procedure and moves on with her life. There is no trademark fanfare or hemming and hawing. Olivia makes the decision, follows through, and that is that.

Scandal offers a powerful, subversive take on abortion. Where other movies and TV series either dive deep into the logistics or spend lots of time dissecting the decision, Scandal does neither. Olivia’s abortion is just another thing she does and she needs no opinions other than her own to make the choice. It is empowering to see abortion portrayed in this way, especially for people who do not feel that they have someone they can talk to about this type of decision.