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

16 of 16

Alison Brie as Ruth Wilder in GLOW (2017). Image courtesy of Erica Parise/Netflix

GLOW (2017)

After Ruth has sex with her best friend’s husband, she finds out that she is pregnant with his baby. With very few friends, she asks the GLOW director to accompany her to the clinic where she has a morning appointment.

The scene is played with quite a bit of humor. Sam cracks jokes with the receptionist and Ruth asks him to go for donuts while she has the procedure. Though there is a decidedly somber note to the entire scene, their attempts at humor demonstrate that Ruth does not want this moment to define her life.

Sam does check in to make sure this is what Ruth wants. She says that neither the time nor the baby are right. Her career is finally going somewhere. The baby’s father is her best friend’s husband. Trying to raise a baby in her current circumstances would do more harm than good for both Ruth and the baby. Abortion is the right option for her for myriad reasons.

Planned Parenthood’s applause for this scene is warranted. GLOW depicts Ruth going for a safe and legal abortion at a certified clinic, answering the necessary questions, and receiving the right information. Overall, it is not a particularly dramatic scene. Everything about it is understated and normal, which is important because it normalizes the choice to get an abortion.

There are so many reasons for someone to terminate a pregnancy. Seeing Ruth be honest about the fact that she simply does not want a child at this point in her life is really refreshing.

Home/Social Progress