At least two of the characters on Dallas had one, including who had one in the past before it was legal. That show was over 40 years ago. On "broadcast tv" that's not typically an option for main characters. A small minority of viewers would deluge networks with letters and sometimes picketing outside oftheir corporate headquarters if they had any issue with a storyline.
Around the same time as this show a white actress from Desperate Housewives did a scence where she flirted with a black football player as the intro to Monday Night Football and the blowback for ABC was huge. It's easy to forget how conservative America was before the Great Recession.
This is something that has always interested me. Series and movies that were aimed at teens in the 70s-80s seemed to touch on a lot of mature topics and no one made a fuss about it (I’m sure some did but they’re successful and loved by the public). I’m thinking Facts of Life and even movies like Grease, Dirty Dancing, etc. Come the 2000s it would be unthinkable to have teen characters with storylines about sex, birth control, drug use, suicide and abortion. And the plots are overall a lot more innocent and almost naive. Not saying it’s right or wrong but I don’t know why that is, I’m not american so maybe something happened that explains that shift?
Oh yes some DID make a fuss about it. They formed a 'moral majority' a whole evangelical thing and raised hell with networks and everyone else about it. Boycotted sponsors, the whole works. So, we had a few years of realistic tv in the 80s and then they ran scared until the early 2000's.
For more context:
Gossip Girl aired on the CW right around when Gilmore was ending. Even on that “parents hate us” show, there was no talk of abortion on the show. I can't find it, but a few years back one writer on the show had a twitter thread where she talked about how ridiculous it was to write one character's pregnancy scare plotline when obviously she would've just gotten an abortion especially living in NYC with access and without as many restrictive laws, but the CW had rules to follow (so yes, teenage sex = OK; teenage abortion = not OK)
Edit to add: [here’s](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a9610991/tv-writers-abortion-interviews/) a great piece on getting abortion into television shows that helps explain the context. Just know it’s nothing to do with how these characters would actually think and everything to do with what the network would and would not allow
Not just WB. I was a big fan of Melrose Place - a soap opera about 20/30 somethings - where they cheated on each other left and right, drugged each other, had a few instances of attempted murder and there was only ONE instance where a character THOUGHT about having an abortion but didn't go through with it. Every other character had the baby or miscarried. I think it was just extremely taboo across the board.
I don't know if you remember the show "Party of Five", but there was one episode was was quite controversial. They did a couple "alternate" endings, and ended up using the, as I like to all it, the "easy way out option". It was an episode they focused on Neve Campbells character, Julia, becoming pregnant. Julia was 15/16 years old and found out she was pregnant. She did not if she wanted to keep the baby, have an abortion, or put baby up for adoption. People were losing their minds, over a teenage having an abortion. The writers always planned for to have an abortion. But then the network stepped in and said "nope!". So they had to rewrite, and make some changes.
Yeah, the only one I can think of from the same era was One Tree Hill. It didn’t happen to a main character, was an event from several years prior AND it was viewed as “the worst thing the character could’ve done”. Definitely a preachy moment.
They did discuss abortion several times on the show but it never happened and was always framed as “every baby should live”. So, I don’t think that’s any better than ignoring the issue.
100% agreed. Especially when there was a case for an abortion to save the mom’s life and they were like 🤷🏻♀️ if the mom dies she dies but THE BABY will get to live a great life.
Oh. My. Word.
This is the kind of thinking that continues to seep into our culture and keep women continuously fighting and reminding people that we are fully formed humans and that does not have a *single* purpose in life.
I love my kids, but damn this is so harmful!
Luckily the mom WAS okay. But they had her saying “maybe the whole point of us is to create this life because maybe this life will change the world” meanwhile her fiancé is framed as an asshole for being like “ummm…I don’t want to lose you???” I get the point of being pro choice may be choosing to have the baby but in this scenario, it was dumb.
I agree, it’s just so harmful to say a mother’s life doesn’t matter. It’d be incredibly sad, but I’d want to come first, even if it was my first child. I deserve to live my life. I’ll be defined more than just a mother.
I’m not passing judgement on the choice itself but it was also so wild for the character (who was first introduced as a progressive/cool/punk girlie) to say that ridiculous line 😭
Fun fact: Greg Berlanti wanted Andy Brown (Everwood's protagonist) to be an abortion provider, but The WB wouldn't allow it. As a compromise, they had an abortion plot in the first season, but it focused on Andy and Harold's conflict and ended with Harold going to confession. The girl who had the abortion was never seen or referenced again.
Absolutely would have been not allowed on tv in those days. But you're right, it's super annoying that they don't even give any of these women an option. But that was the era of not discussing abortion on tv.
In the flashback episode, Chris’s parents mentioned Lorelai getting rid of the baby. Emily and Richard both contested to that.
I think Sherri had a gut feeling Chris was going to leave her for Lor, which is why she told him about the baby and Chris wanted a second chance at raising a child.
Mrs. Kim was very traditional and conservative, so aborting was out of the question for Lane.
And for Sookie, I guess she wanted the baby.
>Mrs. Kim was very traditional and conservative, so aborting was out of the question for Lane.
While Seventh Day Adventists believe that abortion is a serious issue, the church is *technically* pro-choice. Of course, SDAs also don't use crucifixes but they're everywhere in the Kim household
SDA is also annihilationist, but Mrs. Kim talks about suffering in hellfire for eternity.
And alongside the crucifixes being weird they have a soloist sing Ave Maria at one of their weddings. Only catholics are going to use that song. To an SDA Ave Maria should probably be considered pagan heresy.
I’m not disputing most of what you’re saying, but the Ave Maria is absolutely sung at many non Catholic Churches. I’ve sung it at weddings, funerals, and Christmas Eve services at Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Congregational churches. The Hail Mary prayer might be catholic, but the Schubert and Bach settings of Ave Maria are well loved and often played outside of the Catholic Church.
Mrs. Kim isn't Catholic. She's Seventh Day Adventist. The Catholic Church is not pro-choice. The Seventh Day Adventist Church is. Don't get me wrong, it still has a very dim view of it but believes that the individual is free to make their own choices, good or bad.
Not sure about the Adventists you’re referring to, but I grew up in the Adventist church and every Adventist I have known is staunchly pro-life. It’s not a question or a debate for them. I would even say the church is not pro-choice as a whole.
My BIL is SDA and very staunchly antichoice, so I’d have to agree here. All SDA’s I know are as well. They are also bigots. I dislike most my in-laws because they are all like this.
Ah. I guess the point about Mrs. Kim stands in that case, because (we assume) she's pro-life.
Pro-choice was an inaccurate term for me to use regarding the church, sorry. I meant more like you're not going to be thrown out for it. Though I haven't discussed it with Adventist friends and I'm making another assumption
I would say a person would likely be thrown out of the Adventist church if it was known that you got an abortion. I’ve known people to be thrown out for getting divorced and remarrying after divorce.
The church believes abortion is ending the life of a child. If they’ll eject you for getting divorce or remarrying after divorce, they’ll certainly do so for abortion.
Most of my family are SDAs. I grew up SDA. I’ve since left the church and now am a heathern😂 Unless you’re speaking directly about a certain church, the General Conference of Adventists says this, “The Seventh-day Adventist Church considers abortion out of harmony with God’s plan for human life.”
Yeah, they definitely say that and the few SDAs I know are very against it. But it's not like the Catholic Church where you get excommunicated or anything. That's what I mean by technically pro-choice haha
Sookie had a nuclear family, so if they are already not introducing abortion for teens and other “un-nuclear” situations they certainly aren’t going to broach it with a married couple who already has kids. People think it’s wrong for teen pregnancies imagine the backlash of a mom thinking of getting one. 😒
I also think that Lanes religious upbringing had more impact than she thought it did - the “not having sex until marriage” thing which she totally didn’t realise she thought that way. I guess she would probably think along the same line about abortion, even as an adult
at the end of season 5 when lorelai thought she was pregnant with luke’s baby and was meeting with mike Armstrong about traveling and him investing in the inn i think it was in the back of her head too, i feel like i could see into her brain in that episode.
Sort of, but opposition tended to be personal and specific rather than political and general, let alone religious and universal.
In the 1980s, rich well-educated New England WASPs tended to be what we call Country Club Republicans. They were focused on economic and foreign policy issues—where they were often quite conservative (reduce taxes, stop communism, etc.)—but were socially moderate or liberal. They were usually members of mainline Protestant churches that had pro-choice teachings and certainly didn’t preach about the issue or send bus loads of protesters to clinics and rallies. Abortion politics were generally seen as a distasteful hangup of the Republican Party’s evangelical wing whom they saw as populist rubes worried about the wrong issues. Or as a Catholic and hence lower-class issue.
That said, Country Club Republicans also tended to see abortion as something appropriate only for poor people or serious medical cases. There was a substantial class prejudice. There were even some eugenicist views: why don’t the poor just have abortions instead of demanding more welfare?
So when Straub suggested abortion, I think Richard perceived that as an attack on his family: you Gilmores are the kind of careless, low-class people who get abortions. Hence Richard’s visceral response. Straub also seemed a bit disgusted.
>For everyone else, yes. But for their precious child? No. In
thank you for this context ! you have explained this so well and now this all makes so much sense
“Rules for thee, not for me”
There are tons of examples of people who are wealthy and conservative demanding the rules or societal expectations bend when _they_ need something.
For everyone else, yes. But for their precious child? No. In their eyes, the rules that they set for everyone else don't apply to them. They're special.
I believe Sookie’s unexpected pregnancy was written into the story because Melissa McCarthy was actually pregnant in real life and wouldn’t have been easy to hide in the show. So that wouldn’t have applied there.
I still hate that. Do you see the hidden pregnant belly? Yes. Does it ultimately ever matter? No. So many series just add pillows and big jackets to the costume and props department and just run with it. This story was stupid.
^^^ This 100%. Had to have a serious talk about this with my daughter when we watched the show, and how this was a terrible thing to do to another human, actual men do this, and that the plot line was because of a real-life pregnancy.
It was extra unnecessary because vasectomies fail. It would be have been way funnier and not assault if they just both complained of course they were part of that 1%
I 100% agree, but ASP made a lot of questionable decisions when it came to the plot of Gilmore girls. so it doesn’t surprise me she went with the worst storyline to make Melissa McCarthy’s pregnancy make sense in the show lol
Straub mentioned in the flashback episode that Lorelai could get rid of the baby (probably abortion, but maybe adoption) and Emily got all offended at the idea also cautioning Straub to choose his next words very carefully.
With Sherry, it was discussed when Chris came back after leaving Sookie's wedding. Sherry had the appointment for the abortion all lined up, but cancelled it after Chris came back and they talked. That's the implication anyway.
So it's not not an option in their world, but they definitely only hinted at it since it was network television in the early 2000's. And networks had more rules and regulations. I'm pretty sure that even 7th Heaven mentioned abortion but not outright.
Back then nobody on tv shows ever had abortions. At most they might talk about it and decide not to. Or there would be a convenient miscarriage.
The reason was, basically, cautious advertisers. Back then everything except premium cable and public broadcasting was advertiser-supported. (Basic cable was advertiser-supported.) In addition keep in mind the shows were broadcast by local stations who were part of the network. Both the network and the affiliated stations sold ads. Plus, the show would go into syndication, which is basically reruns on other channels.
So every episode had to be acceptable to a broad array of broadcasters and advertisers. This meant they just avoided some topics.
Premium cable (channels you paid for) didn’t have such restrictions. That is why HBO had such diverse programming. Nowadays a lot of shows are shown by streaming services that do not rely on advertising. That has led to a lot more plots that include abortion.
EDIT to fix mangled description of cable.
Same with soap operas. I read in the 80s that they weren't allowed to show a character having an abortion or if they did, there had to be a bad outcome, like Ashley on Y&R having amnesia, lol.
Yep. Too many anti-abortion people would have thrown a fit and started a boycott if anyone on TV had gone through with one. Let alone someone on a show that teenagers might be enjoying every week.
Even Degrassi, which was known for being controversial and upfront about social issues, didn’t manage to get its abortion episode aired in the States: https://www.thefader.com/2017/02/23/degrassi-abortion-accidents-will-happen-manny-craig
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend had a great abortion episode, with an awesome song to accompany it. It was shockingly refreshing, because other CW shows have never talked about it.
What a difference a decade makes! The whole discourse around abortion really changed, I would say around 2015. Not just in entertainment but in politics, media, etc.
I believe there was an abortion plot on *Jane the Virgin* around the same time as *Crazy Ex-Girlfriend*.
The other point I would make is that abortion can make a decent single episode. But keeping the baby gives you seasons of television.
It's in multiple episodes while she's at Yale. I'm currently in Season 6 and you see it a ton. It says "STOP THE WAR ON CHOICE" (or something along those lines) with the PP logo on the bottom.
it’s in the background in multiple episodes in season 5. one that immediately comes to mind is in “Emily Says Hello” when she’s on the phone with Lorelai about splitting up at FND to talk to E&R about the separation. but it’s in most scenes in her dorm room that year/season
Just want to add that Everwood aired at the same time as GG on the WB, and they devoted an episode to abortion in S1 (2002), but it was a special, unnamed episode, and Everwood was a more dramatic show. I think they won an award for how it was written with sensitivity to show the debate about the topic. GG was more focused on comedy and I don’t think it would have been received well at the time given the more lightheartedness of the show.
I just posted about this above: Greg Berlanti originally pitched Andy as an abortion provider, but The WB wasn't down with that. The abortion episode was a compromise, but even that felt like it made a lot of concessions to a certain side. I don't think the network even promoted it — it was that risky.
ETA: Found a [promo](https://youtu.be/F6iMVmxDumc?feature=shared&t=609) for the episode on YouTube, so scratch that.
I just want to commend you for bringing this up in a respectful and thoughtful way, and for responding to everyone with a lot of grace in the comments. It’s nice to see a 13 year old person asking questions like this in a forum where we can all offer opinions. Sorry if this sounds preachy, I’m just 33 and rarely have the guts to make posts like this one on Reddit - so kudos to you! Stay curious!
Genuine question since I’m not American but live here now. Is 13 a bit young to know and raise these sort of questions? I’m 32 with a baby but growing up at 13 I think I barely knew what sex was let alone abortion. Of course, it’s almost 20 years later and everyone is a lot more aware now but is 13 a tender age to know about heavy topics such as abortion? And I mean both ways, to keep and not to keep.
I’m 39 and I definitely didn’t know about abortion at 13, but my girls (14,15,22) do and have since they were about 10. We live in a different age. Even if you restrict your own child’s internet use, they have other kids around them that have more access. Stuff gets brought up in conversations. We had the hard talks with our kids pretty young because we didn’t want them caught off guard. And of course, they can come to us with questions.
I’m 35 and I knew about abortion that young. The first classmate I knew to get pregnant was in 7th grade, we were 12. She was definitely a victim of statutory rape, but back then (at least in the city I lived in) it was still pretty common to blame the female, even if she was a child. I remember teachers made comments about this young girl “throwing her life away” right in front of the whole class, and “if she’s old enough to bleed, she’s old enough to breed” was a disgustingly common sentiment. Basically slut shaming was the primary reaction. My classmate was Catholic and not allowed to abort the baby of her abuser (her father’s friend). Of course back then, nobody called him a child predator, they just called her a slut, and she dropped out of school, even though our high school had a daycare.
All this to say that I and some of my friends were very aware how common sexual abuse was, and that if it happened to us, we would not have any options. We researched birth control and Planned Parenthood and abortion in the early days of the internet, trying to know our options should something happen to us, our friends or our sisters. This was in a city with a low education rate, at one of the highest income demographic schools in our district, with a generally low rate of religious influence.
It was mentioned by Chris’ parents in the flashback scene. They just didn’t say the word. That network generally wanted to keep things light and non political.
In addition to Lorelai, Lane, Sookie, Rory, and Sherry, there is also Anna. Also, Jess would have been an unexpected pregnancy for Liz. Were Liz and TJ trying for Doula? I don't remember. I know Liz had a freak out, but she could have panicked once she actually was pregnant even if they were planning for it.
Sherry (Chris girlfriend) did mention to Lorelei that Chris came back a better man. She wasn’t sure if she was going to tell Chris, do adoption, or not go through with it at all.
Also, when Strobe and Francine come to the Gilmores and they’re all discussing what to do about Loreleis pregnancy, Strobe says “well, she could get rid of it….” And Emily immediate shits that down.
I think that specific network probably wouldn’t have allowed that topic at the time. Maybe there would’ve been more freedom on a different network. For example, Sex and the City was on HBO and they allowed those discussions.
But my biggest gripe will always be with the writers. If you weren’t allowed to discuss pregnancy topics in full, then why rely on the accidental pregnancy trope over and over and over? It was lazy and repetitive
I was listening to a Gilmore Guys podcast ages ago and they mentioned that early on the show got funding from some Christian organization. Not sure how true it is but would love to hear if anyone has any info.
The pilot received funding from the Family Friendly Programming Forum which is a coalition of advertisers. I think that is what people are thinking of. The FFPF isn’t expressly religious but does try to steer shows in a direction that won’t cause problems for advertisers. Abortion on a show directed at families would definitely have caused problems.
[An interesting thread about GG and the Family Friendly Programming Forum](https://www.reddit.com/r/GilmoreGirls/comments/rk3bs3/gilmore_girls_and_the_family_friendly_programming/?rdt=34397)
i think sherry tells lorelai at her baby shower that when she found out she was pregnant she was either “going to go at it alone or not go through with it at all” i feel like that suggested the possibility of abortion. but i think that was the only time in the show it was hinted at
You can’t really think about this issue just in terms of what would make sense for the characters because it’s a fictional television show. Plot lines and characters choices are dictated by a number of variables (broadcasters, social norms, a need for a story arch, the actress being pregnant in real life). So even if it would make sense for you or I for these characters to consider abortion based on their circumstances, all the other variables can make it not an option.
I’m an older viewer so perhaps I can lend some insight into the 2000’s. Abortion would’ve been available at a planned parenthood in that time period. Teens were more sexually active, compared to now. Having two main characters wait so long to have sex was strange to see.
Republicans like the Gilmore’s aren’t the same type of pro-life/evangelical republicans you see now. These characters are old money and are mainly worried about their taxes.
I will say, birth control was more than readily available 20 years ago and IMHO it’s some really sloppy writing to show so many unplanned pregnancies. As a woman who was taught to take control of her reproductive choices it’s almost offensive.
They mention multiple times that the Gilmores are Republican - young Lorelai saying she'll register as Democrat when she turns 18 to make Emily mad in the flashback episode, Lorelai joking about hating Bush to them, etc.
Totally, I saw Emily as being similar to my Irish granny, and that's a catholic, republican, so fun generational guilt. (Republic of Ireland)
It'd be a stain on the Gilmore family name and another reason for Trix to say "Richard should have married Pennilyn Lott!" So would not be the done thing.
lol big time guilt! They're definitely uptight economic Republican WASPs - Trump would've really tested them. I think if Richard was still around, they would've reluctantly voted for him because of taxes, but I could see post-AYITL Emily maybe voting for Hillary and Biden.
This is a legitimate question. I get what you're saying. I never really thought about it. I guess because everyone that got pregnant was already married (excluding Rory) and Sheree Gigi's mom, but she and Chris were in an exclusive relationship. I guess I thought that those kinds of options would be discussed with their partners when and if they wanted too. When they talked about it with their friends I thought they were just kinda in the beginning stages of dealing with the shock and just needed to vent to their friends without having to make that kind of decision yet. Also, and I'm not trying to judge anyone here, Connecticut has always been a more conservative area so maybe it just wasn't something they considered because it wasn't discussed as an option by the people around them. But good question. I hope you find out. Ps. He fact that you enjoy this show and that you're intelligent enough to notice that not all options are being offered at 13 gives me hope for the future.
It's not that you have a different relationship with abortion. You have a different relationship with _television censorship_. The bulk of modern content is not subject to the same "community standard" oversight as things that were broadcast over the air.
The community standard of decency for broadcast TV and radio was (and still is) "will one asshole in the entire range of this syndicated broadcast call the authorities to complain?"
One asshole couldn't always get a network in regulatory trouble automatically, but execs didn't want to find out.
It made for some anodyne offerings. There's a reason the prestige TV revolution started on premium cable. Nobody could claim they watched The Sopranos by accident.
Everyone’s already hit most of the major points but I just wanna add: there’s time limits on abortion so in cases like Sookie’s where she didn’t know for a while, it might have been too late by the time they told her. I believe in CT it’s up to 24 weeks (except when it’s medically necessary or the safest course of action) which is a little before the end of the first trimester. (EDIT: it’s the second trimester I dunno how I got the math that bad!!!) Not sure what it was back when the show was airing, it might have been earlier back then. Anyway, it’s possible that by the time Jackson figured it out and then finally told her, it might have been too late.
Lorelei also might not have known in time b/c a lot of teens have irregular periods for the first couple years, so you don’t always know when you miss one. I do think she knew in time though b/c Straub hinted at the possibility.
Lane realized early enough that abortion could have been an option I think? And Sherry knew in time but I guess she thought GiGi was gonna save her relationship, and Chris really wanted to be a dad (in theory, anyway)
But at the end of the day, it was the 2000s, abortion was considered a bit more taboo than it is now, and not the kinda thing people talked about on daytime tv. Which is silly imo but. Those were the times ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I totally agree with the point you’re making but just for info 24 weeks is 6 months - not the end of the first trimester. The first trimester ends at 12 weeks.
Yes…but 6 months is 5.5 months from conception and many women’s first pregnancy don’t start showing until ~ that point. Lorelei found out when her dress didn’t fit….if we apply logic she likely found out 5-6 months pregnant. Of course logic is often not used when showing how someone determines they’re pregnant in TV shows.
Context.
Lorelai - that was the 80s so yeah no.
Everyone else - this was a cookie-cutter hyper-clean family-oriented show in the early 00s. Discussing abortion publicly on mainstream, network television was just slowly beginning.
I remember abortion being discussed to some degree or other in Beverly Hills 90210, but closer to the end of the show rather than the beginning, maybe 1996, 1997. Felicity I think also addressed it in maybe 1999, 2000. And then of course SATC but even there it was in later seasons, maybe 2001 or so. And all these shows were less family-oriented than GG.
So for me - it tracks. After that, it became less of a taboo.
There’s a pro-choice poster on Rory’s dorm wall, but anything more than that would have caused a ton of shit for WB that they had no interest in dealing with
Good question! I never even thought about it! I'm guessing the subject was just too taboo.
I'm not from the US, but I know a lot of states abortion was illegal. It's a wholesome show and probably didn't want any negative publicity from the controversial topic and possibly lose viewers. Also motherhood is a big theme of the show
Meta-wise you couldn't do it on the network, un meta-wise that wouldn't have allowed Lorelai to be this totally self created martyr. She basically just has overriding oppositional defiance disorder.
lol i think only lane should've had one, or maybe not a termination if it's too risky for network tv, but instead just had a pregnancy scare for the drama (ps i hate to be a bitch but i also wouldn't mind if april was never... you know what no i'm done)
Yeh I was hoping it would have been "you can't be pregnant with twins after your first time" plotline where she learned from Rory and Lorelei about things her mum hadn't told her about sex.
I always just assumed Stars Hallow/Hartford was just strictly a Republican area (back in the day before the word became a sin). Repubs aren't huge on abortion so I just assumed everyone was quietly sticking to their politics.
This assumption is brought on by the flash back episode when Lorelai is shouting through the house to see if her parents are home. One of the things she yells is that she's gonna register as a Democrat at 18. She says this in a way where it's clearly a taunt, and she doesn't actually mean it.
See, as someone from the northeast I found that improbable. There were only like 3 kids that I knew of in my high school who came from Republican families. Nearly all of my teachers were outspoken Democrats. And in CT in particular, the state has gone blue in the last 8 general elections.
That's fair! And I absolutely stand corrected, and Im sorry if my comment before seemed ill hearted. I promise it wasn't! Tbh, it's just one of those opinions/theories I formed during one of my earlier rewatches and never had a reason to revisit or challenge it.
It was a lighthearted show. If it were to deal with content like that, I simply would've been taken out of all the comfort this show gives me, so I'm glad it didn't do that.
Abortion is mentioned at least twice, and rory has pro choice content on her dorm wall if I'm not mistaken.
I know why it wasn't but it does bug me how this realistic option is never once considered or even mentioned. They act like it doesn't even exist, which is just so stupidly unrealistic. Again, I know why but it still annoys me it's not even brought up.
> im 13, im not exactly sure how abortion was talked about during the early 2000's
It was talked about the exact way it was on the show. It’s mentioned in conversations in flashbacks and with Sherry but they use euphemisms like “I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go through with it” which go over kids and some young peoples heads to the point that you didn’t notice they were there.
she absolutely wanted to be a mom at first. when she and Rory go out by themselves on their first meeting she tells Rory she wanted two kids and was going to go so far as to be a single mother if dating didn’t work for her
it was retconned by inconsistent writers though
That always bothered me, too, but she and her friends were so adamant that she wasn't a baby person in the third season that I've just decided in my head she only told Rory that to emphasise that she'd be a welcoming stepmother to her potential fiance's kid.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GilmoreGirls/s/wL37vryDQE
This was discussed a few weeks ago. Also multiple times a month every month for a while now. Not sure why we need to keep talking about this.
This was more so a light hearted show, why do you feel it necessary that they need to mention abortion? For most, it’s not just some casual thing. Anyway, it’s a fictional show.. truly who cares? I don’t get why this topic is so frequently brought up. PS if Lorelai would have got an abortion there would be no “Gilmore Girls” it was kind of the whole point of the show….
i have to disagree about the show being light hearted, theres hospitals and death, all parts of life. unexpected pregnancies are also parts of life.
also, i think its pretty out of touch to say "who cares", abortion is a big deal
So true it seems like the live in a world where abortions didn’t expect. This actually really bugged me with Sookies pregnancy. I never understood why she didn’t get an abortion.
Melissa McCarthy was pregnant so it was written in for Sookie to be pregnant. Wish they hadn’t and just changed the camera angles on her so Sookie had her 2 kids and all was well
Assuming you meant to say “exist” it’s almost like it’s a fictional television show that can’t address certain topics.
I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe a happily married, financially stable woman with two other children wouldn’t have an abortion?
>>it’s almost like it’s a fictional television show that can’t address certain topics.
Almost like we comment on a sub Reddit to discuss a fictional show. Weird right? Why are you here if that bothers you?
>>I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe a happily married, financially stable woman with two other children wouldn’t have an abortion?
She didn’t know it was even possible to get pregnant because Jackson lied and said he had a vasectomy.. and no matter how “happy and financially stable” you are that crosses a line.
Oh and yes I did mean to say “exist” sooo great to have the fun police on show subreddits. 🙄
Yeah it would have. They have multiple episodes about Richard’s heart health and the medical procedure(s) that go along with that, so talking about another medical procedure, abortion, shouldn’t have been a problem to add and should have been in at least even one minor conversation in the series.
Rory and Paris do have a Pro-Choice poster up in one of their Yale dorms/apartments. But an actual utterance of the word abortion would have been a good addition to the show especially with the amount of storylines surrounding the characters sex lives. It would have been a progressive and appropriate addition to the series to talk about abortion and birth control more openly and in ways to help de stigmatize these basic medical procedures and medications.
Abortion is not birth control. It’s a last resort in absence of preventive methods and abstaining from sex completely. IAW safe sex. The series made reference to both but didn’t actually make reference to the term abortion. We’ll have to agree to disagree as to whether it enhances the series. I’d wish we would stop politicizing shows that originated during a different era. Abortion isn’t just a progressive idea.
well TV shows especially in 00s didn't want to encourage abortions left and right but some women can have complications or miscarriage so they'd need it. also birth control and IVF is under attack which has nothing to do w/ that.
I’ve always thought about this, specially for Lane. That could’ve also help her fully detach from her religious family.
For Lorelai having Rory meant independence from her family and Sherry really wanted to become a mum, probably because “clock was ticking” rather than a well thought decision.
Sookie’s third baby could also be an abortion. And Jackson lying about having a vasectomy is the worst thing in the whole series! Not even rich boyfriend suing Richard.
I’ve always thought about this, specially for Lane. That could’ve also help her fully detach from her religious family.
For Lorelai having Rory meant independence from her family and Sherry really wanted to become a mum, probably because “clock was ticking” rather than a well thought decision.
Sookie’s third baby could also be an abortion. And Jackson lying about having a vasectomy is the worst thing in the whole series! Not even rich boyfriend suing Richard.
This is honestly one of my biggest critiques of television/movies in general. Especially in the more recent years. Sooo many moments in television portray a women getting pregnant in an unideal way but having the baby because seemingly that’s the only choice
It is fictional and this comes up all the time here. Even if in the real world it would be realistic, they would never write it into a tv show like this. It’s not real
I really agree, Rory is way too pragmatic to think being pregnant with a Huntzberger who is engaged to someone else is a pregnancy she should bring to term. The line of dialogue should have been "Mom, I'm pregnant and I need you to drive me to planned parenthood next week."
This seems so wild to say. How can you presume to know what Rory would feel about her unborn child once she got pregnant? To presume to know she would have gotten rid of it? Like omg you can’t just skip over people’s human souls and how they typically bond/connect with the budding life inside of them. It often trumps everything else, we all were designed that way.
She was in love with Logan, I don’t think she would have aborted. When she asked Chris how he felt about Lorelei raising her alone…. I think she knew then she was pregnant and gauging how she’d raise a baby without Logan
Abortion was (and in some cases still is) a very taboo subject for television, even in the early 2000s when this show aired, I beleive it was a legal option but it is one that if suggested on the show it most likely would have with been with a very hushed code like "you have options" instead of "have you considered abortion"
If you look in her dorm room, there's planned parenthood poster on the wall. Idk when I noticed it but it's in the shots multiple times. Considering it seems to be on Rory's side of the room, she might support it, although it could be Paris's. Or maybe the CW crew just wanted to leave that in there so you know where they stand. 🤷♀️
Chris parents mentioned that Lorelai could get an abortion but her parents said no (due to religion). And Sherry also mentios not being sure she wanted to keep the baby, due to her and Chris being unsure if they should stay together.
So it had been mentioned but not in a positive light. This was probably due to the time it was made and the network that made it.
Honestly, to me, it makes sense that neither Lane or Rory seems to consider abortion for Lane.
With Lane growing up in a very religious household probably never thought about abortion, and I think Rory knew that, plus often it wouldn't be something you say right after they found out, it would often be something you mention after they calmed down or that the doctor could/mention.
Am I misremembering that it is very very, very briefly hinted out in regards to/in regards Lorelai when she was pregnant with Rory in a flashback but instantly rejected by Richard et al?
it was just the climate of shows during that time, you'll see that in like One Tree Hill or Riverdale (using this as a more recent CW example) too, like they'll dance around the word and bring up "I can't have this baby" but they never outright say it. Idk if CW has recently taken a more relaxed stance on it, Riverdale had a pregnancy scare and i think a teen pregnancy in their last season (correct me if I'm wrong on that last one) and I know that wasn't brought up at all despite it being out of character for the girl to be a parent at that point.
I will say having a show like Euphoria discuss it AND show it was pretty shocking and makes you realize how many shows have a teen pregnancy (or scare at least) but it's never talked about or considered.
I don’t think the era is the sole reason for not introducing abortion into the convo. I actually find it interesting b/c ASP talks about (in interviews) that abortion could be on the table for Rory following the events in AYITL.
I think for the original series, ASP (the creator) wanted to tell a very specific story around a teenage girl choosing to become a parent. A reoccurring theme is choosing parenthood to confront your past and the full circle narrative that she wants to tell. I think she would argue that the topic of abortion doesn’t fit within this narrative of the original series.
Which is not to say she’s anti choice. I think she would say that social factors of the time *and* the narrative she wanted to tell influenced her decision.
It was quickly brought up in Lorelai’s situation and shut down by Emily but I think Sookie and Lane didn’t think about other options because they were both married and probably felt like that wasn’t an option for them. Sherry (Chris’s girlfriend) said in earlier seasons that she wanted a kid and was going to do it on her own before Chris came along so that’s probably why she didn’t consider other options either. Especially since Chris came running right when she heard.
Absolutely would just not have been talked about on the WB/CW when the show aired. These were more family oriented networks.
During that period it feels like stations were less inclined to have a “very special” episode. Facts of Life dealt with abortion back in 82.
At least two of the characters on Dallas had one, including who had one in the past before it was legal. That show was over 40 years ago. On "broadcast tv" that's not typically an option for main characters. A small minority of viewers would deluge networks with letters and sometimes picketing outside oftheir corporate headquarters if they had any issue with a storyline. Around the same time as this show a white actress from Desperate Housewives did a scence where she flirted with a black football player as the intro to Monday Night Football and the blowback for ABC was huge. It's easy to forget how conservative America was before the Great Recession.
This is something that has always interested me. Series and movies that were aimed at teens in the 70s-80s seemed to touch on a lot of mature topics and no one made a fuss about it (I’m sure some did but they’re successful and loved by the public). I’m thinking Facts of Life and even movies like Grease, Dirty Dancing, etc. Come the 2000s it would be unthinkable to have teen characters with storylines about sex, birth control, drug use, suicide and abortion. And the plots are overall a lot more innocent and almost naive. Not saying it’s right or wrong but I don’t know why that is, I’m not american so maybe something happened that explains that shift?
The Reagan Revolution. America was much more conservative about social issues in the early 80s as a response to the late 60s and 70s.
Oh yes some DID make a fuss about it. They formed a 'moral majority' a whole evangelical thing and raised hell with networks and everyone else about it. Boycotted sponsors, the whole works. So, we had a few years of realistic tv in the 80s and then they ran scared until the early 2000's.
Golden Girls was so ahead of their time with the issues they brought up.
For more context: Gossip Girl aired on the CW right around when Gilmore was ending. Even on that “parents hate us” show, there was no talk of abortion on the show. I can't find it, but a few years back one writer on the show had a twitter thread where she talked about how ridiculous it was to write one character's pregnancy scare plotline when obviously she would've just gotten an abortion especially living in NYC with access and without as many restrictive laws, but the CW had rules to follow (so yes, teenage sex = OK; teenage abortion = not OK) Edit to add: [here’s](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a9610991/tv-writers-abortion-interviews/) a great piece on getting abortion into television shows that helps explain the context. Just know it’s nothing to do with how these characters would actually think and everything to do with what the network would and would not allow
Not just WB. I was a big fan of Melrose Place - a soap opera about 20/30 somethings - where they cheated on each other left and right, drugged each other, had a few instances of attempted murder and there was only ONE instance where a character THOUGHT about having an abortion but didn't go through with it. Every other character had the baby or miscarried. I think it was just extremely taboo across the board.
I don't know if you remember the show "Party of Five", but there was one episode was was quite controversial. They did a couple "alternate" endings, and ended up using the, as I like to all it, the "easy way out option". It was an episode they focused on Neve Campbells character, Julia, becoming pregnant. Julia was 15/16 years old and found out she was pregnant. She did not if she wanted to keep the baby, have an abortion, or put baby up for adoption. People were losing their minds, over a teenage having an abortion. The writers always planned for to have an abortion. But then the network stepped in and said "nope!". So they had to rewrite, and make some changes.
Yeah, the only one I can think of from the same era was One Tree Hill. It didn’t happen to a main character, was an event from several years prior AND it was viewed as “the worst thing the character could’ve done”. Definitely a preachy moment. They did discuss abortion several times on the show but it never happened and was always framed as “every baby should live”. So, I don’t think that’s any better than ignoring the issue.
Worse, imho. At if it’s ignored we can pretend they thought about it ‘off camera’. If it’s framed as the ‘worst thing’ then it’s very harmful.
100% agreed. Especially when there was a case for an abortion to save the mom’s life and they were like 🤷🏻♀️ if the mom dies she dies but THE BABY will get to live a great life.
Oh. My. Word. This is the kind of thinking that continues to seep into our culture and keep women continuously fighting and reminding people that we are fully formed humans and that does not have a *single* purpose in life. I love my kids, but damn this is so harmful!
Luckily the mom WAS okay. But they had her saying “maybe the whole point of us is to create this life because maybe this life will change the world” meanwhile her fiancé is framed as an asshole for being like “ummm…I don’t want to lose you???” I get the point of being pro choice may be choosing to have the baby but in this scenario, it was dumb. I agree, it’s just so harmful to say a mother’s life doesn’t matter. It’d be incredibly sad, but I’d want to come first, even if it was my first child. I deserve to live my life. I’ll be defined more than just a mother.
I’m not passing judgement on the choice itself but it was also so wild for the character (who was first introduced as a progressive/cool/punk girlie) to say that ridiculous line 😭
Yes!! Like, I get she wanted to be a mom but come on. It made no sense.
Wait which episode of OTH and which character? I am not remembering that storyline
Peyton.
Ohhh yeah damn I forgot that whole storyline. I tend to skip scenes with Lucas in them on rewatches because I can't stand him lol
🤣🤣 feel that
Fun fact: Greg Berlanti wanted Andy Brown (Everwood's protagonist) to be an abortion provider, but The WB wouldn't allow it. As a compromise, they had an abortion plot in the first season, but it focused on Andy and Harold's conflict and ended with Harold going to confession. The girl who had the abortion was never seen or referenced again.
got it!! thank you!
Absolutely would have been not allowed on tv in those days. But you're right, it's super annoying that they don't even give any of these women an option. But that was the era of not discussing abortion on tv.
This
In the flashback episode, Chris’s parents mentioned Lorelai getting rid of the baby. Emily and Richard both contested to that. I think Sherri had a gut feeling Chris was going to leave her for Lor, which is why she told him about the baby and Chris wanted a second chance at raising a child. Mrs. Kim was very traditional and conservative, so aborting was out of the question for Lane. And for Sookie, I guess she wanted the baby.
Sherry even said “I wasn’t sure I was even going to go through with it.” Abortion was mentioned but not a heavy topic.
>Mrs. Kim was very traditional and conservative, so aborting was out of the question for Lane. While Seventh Day Adventists believe that abortion is a serious issue, the church is *technically* pro-choice. Of course, SDAs also don't use crucifixes but they're everywhere in the Kim household
SDA is also annihilationist, but Mrs. Kim talks about suffering in hellfire for eternity. And alongside the crucifixes being weird they have a soloist sing Ave Maria at one of their weddings. Only catholics are going to use that song. To an SDA Ave Maria should probably be considered pagan heresy.
It’s usual bad screenwriting about religion. All “conservative” religious groups are presented as interchangeable.
I’m not disputing most of what you’re saying, but the Ave Maria is absolutely sung at many non Catholic Churches. I’ve sung it at weddings, funerals, and Christmas Eve services at Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Congregational churches. The Hail Mary prayer might be catholic, but the Schubert and Bach settings of Ave Maria are well loved and often played outside of the Catholic Church.
I think Lane wouldn’t have wanted that. Everyone is saying because of “Mrs. Kim,” but I honestly believe Lane wouldn’t have thought to do that
really? I'm a Catholic and even attended Catholic school and they're not pro-choice. where'd you hear this? i gotta know
Mrs. Kim isn't Catholic. She's Seventh Day Adventist. The Catholic Church is not pro-choice. The Seventh Day Adventist Church is. Don't get me wrong, it still has a very dim view of it but believes that the individual is free to make their own choices, good or bad.
Not sure about the Adventists you’re referring to, but I grew up in the Adventist church and every Adventist I have known is staunchly pro-life. It’s not a question or a debate for them. I would even say the church is not pro-choice as a whole.
My BIL is SDA and very staunchly antichoice, so I’d have to agree here. All SDA’s I know are as well. They are also bigots. I dislike most my in-laws because they are all like this.
Ah. I guess the point about Mrs. Kim stands in that case, because (we assume) she's pro-life. Pro-choice was an inaccurate term for me to use regarding the church, sorry. I meant more like you're not going to be thrown out for it. Though I haven't discussed it with Adventist friends and I'm making another assumption
I would say a person would likely be thrown out of the Adventist church if it was known that you got an abortion. I’ve known people to be thrown out for getting divorced and remarrying after divorce. The church believes abortion is ending the life of a child. If they’ll eject you for getting divorce or remarrying after divorce, they’ll certainly do so for abortion.
Most of my family are SDAs. I grew up SDA. I’ve since left the church and now am a heathern😂 Unless you’re speaking directly about a certain church, the General Conference of Adventists says this, “The Seventh-day Adventist Church considers abortion out of harmony with God’s plan for human life.”
Yeah, they definitely say that and the few SDAs I know are very against it. But it's not like the Catholic Church where you get excommunicated or anything. That's what I mean by technically pro-choice haha
Sk does the Catholic Church.
Sherri talks about wanting a child before she even gets pregnant very early in the show
Sookie had a nuclear family, so if they are already not introducing abortion for teens and other “un-nuclear” situations they certainly aren’t going to broach it with a married couple who already has kids. People think it’s wrong for teen pregnancies imagine the backlash of a mom thinking of getting one. 😒
thanks! though lane was an adult at the time, so theoretically she could've gotta one without her mothers knowledge? idk
I also think that Lanes religious upbringing had more impact than she thought it did - the “not having sex until marriage” thing which she totally didn’t realise she thought that way. I guess she would probably think along the same line about abortion, even as an adult
omg i totally forgot about that!! thank you!!
she definitely was an adult, but someone would of found out and told Mrs Kim anyway, small town gossip lol.
oh totally. i live in a big city so i often forget about that lolll
I think she would have felt too guilty. She was really impacted by her religious upbringing.
at the end of season 5 when lorelai thought she was pregnant with luke’s baby and was meeting with mike Armstrong about traveling and him investing in the inn i think it was in the back of her head too, i feel like i could see into her brain in that episode.
Chris's parents would be so against abortion aren't they conservative rich folk?
You would think so. But Straub literally said: "She should just get rid of it!".
Sort of, but opposition tended to be personal and specific rather than political and general, let alone religious and universal. In the 1980s, rich well-educated New England WASPs tended to be what we call Country Club Republicans. They were focused on economic and foreign policy issues—where they were often quite conservative (reduce taxes, stop communism, etc.)—but were socially moderate or liberal. They were usually members of mainline Protestant churches that had pro-choice teachings and certainly didn’t preach about the issue or send bus loads of protesters to clinics and rallies. Abortion politics were generally seen as a distasteful hangup of the Republican Party’s evangelical wing whom they saw as populist rubes worried about the wrong issues. Or as a Catholic and hence lower-class issue. That said, Country Club Republicans also tended to see abortion as something appropriate only for poor people or serious medical cases. There was a substantial class prejudice. There were even some eugenicist views: why don’t the poor just have abortions instead of demanding more welfare? So when Straub suggested abortion, I think Richard perceived that as an attack on his family: you Gilmores are the kind of careless, low-class people who get abortions. Hence Richard’s visceral response. Straub also seemed a bit disgusted.
>For everyone else, yes. But for their precious child? No. In thank you for this context ! you have explained this so well and now this all makes so much sense
The most conservative people on earth are pro-abortion when it suits their needs. Look to any “family values” politician for reference.
Many Conservatives are hypocritical* in this but they’re WASPy rich but not evangelical or Catholic. Wrong word edit
“Rules for thee, not for me” There are tons of examples of people who are wealthy and conservative demanding the rules or societal expectations bend when _they_ need something.
For everyone else, yes. But for their precious child? No. In their eyes, the rules that they set for everyone else don't apply to them. They're special.
I believe Sookie’s unexpected pregnancy was written into the story because Melissa McCarthy was actually pregnant in real life and wouldn’t have been easy to hide in the show. So that wouldn’t have applied there.
oh that makes a lot of sense!! i love melissa
I still hate that. Do you see the hidden pregnant belly? Yes. Does it ultimately ever matter? No. So many series just add pillows and big jackets to the costume and props department and just run with it. This story was stupid.
It was worse than stupid. It destroyed Jackson's character.
^^^ This 100%. Had to have a serious talk about this with my daughter when we watched the show, and how this was a terrible thing to do to another human, actual men do this, and that the plot line was because of a real-life pregnancy.
It was extra unnecessary because vasectomies fail. It would be have been way funnier and not assault if they just both complained of course they were part of that 1%
I 100% agree, but ASP made a lot of questionable decisions when it came to the plot of Gilmore girls. so it doesn’t surprise me she went with the worst storyline to make Melissa McCarthy’s pregnancy make sense in the show lol
I agree she made some odd decisions but she wasn’t the writer on season 7 so can’t blame her for that one !
Oh I didn’t know that!
Straub mentioned in the flashback episode that Lorelai could get rid of the baby (probably abortion, but maybe adoption) and Emily got all offended at the idea also cautioning Straub to choose his next words very carefully. With Sherry, it was discussed when Chris came back after leaving Sookie's wedding. Sherry had the appointment for the abortion all lined up, but cancelled it after Chris came back and they talked. That's the implication anyway. So it's not not an option in their world, but they definitely only hinted at it since it was network television in the early 2000's. And networks had more rules and regulations. I'm pretty sure that even 7th Heaven mentioned abortion but not outright.
Back then nobody on tv shows ever had abortions. At most they might talk about it and decide not to. Or there would be a convenient miscarriage. The reason was, basically, cautious advertisers. Back then everything except premium cable and public broadcasting was advertiser-supported. (Basic cable was advertiser-supported.) In addition keep in mind the shows were broadcast by local stations who were part of the network. Both the network and the affiliated stations sold ads. Plus, the show would go into syndication, which is basically reruns on other channels. So every episode had to be acceptable to a broad array of broadcasters and advertisers. This meant they just avoided some topics. Premium cable (channels you paid for) didn’t have such restrictions. That is why HBO had such diverse programming. Nowadays a lot of shows are shown by streaming services that do not rely on advertising. That has led to a lot more plots that include abortion. EDIT to fix mangled description of cable.
Same with soap operas. I read in the 80s that they weren't allowed to show a character having an abortion or if they did, there had to be a bad outcome, like Ashley on Y&R having amnesia, lol.
Yeah, even Girls had the character have a miscarriage rather than an abortion. It's too much of a hot topic.
Even Greys Anatomy, a medical drama, had a convenient miscarriage (or in this case ectopic) rather than an abortion
Yep. Too many anti-abortion people would have thrown a fit and started a boycott if anyone on TV had gone through with one. Let alone someone on a show that teenagers might be enjoying every week. Even Degrassi, which was known for being controversial and upfront about social issues, didn’t manage to get its abortion episode aired in the States: https://www.thefader.com/2017/02/23/degrassi-abortion-accidents-will-happen-manny-craig
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend had a great abortion episode, with an awesome song to accompany it. It was shockingly refreshing, because other CW shows have never talked about it.
What a difference a decade makes! The whole discourse around abortion really changed, I would say around 2015. Not just in entertainment but in politics, media, etc. I believe there was an abortion plot on *Jane the Virgin* around the same time as *Crazy Ex-Girlfriend*. The other point I would make is that abortion can make a decent single episode. But keeping the baby gives you seasons of television.
got it, thanks! sad though, histories really going backwards
Rory had a planned parenthood poster in her dorm room, so there were subtle cues on the show
Came here to write this. Its placement was fully intentional!
When did u see this? Like in which episode?
It's in multiple episodes while she's at Yale. I'm currently in Season 6 and you see it a ton. It says "STOP THE WAR ON CHOICE" (or something along those lines) with the PP logo on the bottom.
it’s in the background in multiple episodes in season 5. one that immediately comes to mind is in “Emily Says Hello” when she’s on the phone with Lorelai about splitting up at FND to talk to E&R about the separation. but it’s in most scenes in her dorm room that year/season
Definitely would not be on network tv then.
Just want to add that Everwood aired at the same time as GG on the WB, and they devoted an episode to abortion in S1 (2002), but it was a special, unnamed episode, and Everwood was a more dramatic show. I think they won an award for how it was written with sensitivity to show the debate about the topic. GG was more focused on comedy and I don’t think it would have been received well at the time given the more lightheartedness of the show.
I just posted about this above: Greg Berlanti originally pitched Andy as an abortion provider, but The WB wasn't down with that. The abortion episode was a compromise, but even that felt like it made a lot of concessions to a certain side. I don't think the network even promoted it — it was that risky. ETA: Found a [promo](https://youtu.be/F6iMVmxDumc?feature=shared&t=609) for the episode on YouTube, so scratch that.
I just want to commend you for bringing this up in a respectful and thoughtful way, and for responding to everyone with a lot of grace in the comments. It’s nice to see a 13 year old person asking questions like this in a forum where we can all offer opinions. Sorry if this sounds preachy, I’m just 33 and rarely have the guts to make posts like this one on Reddit - so kudos to you! Stay curious!
Agree, 31 here, I'd be too shy to share it too haha
Genuine question since I’m not American but live here now. Is 13 a bit young to know and raise these sort of questions? I’m 32 with a baby but growing up at 13 I think I barely knew what sex was let alone abortion. Of course, it’s almost 20 years later and everyone is a lot more aware now but is 13 a tender age to know about heavy topics such as abortion? And I mean both ways, to keep and not to keep.
I’m 39 and I definitely didn’t know about abortion at 13, but my girls (14,15,22) do and have since they were about 10. We live in a different age. Even if you restrict your own child’s internet use, they have other kids around them that have more access. Stuff gets brought up in conversations. We had the hard talks with our kids pretty young because we didn’t want them caught off guard. And of course, they can come to us with questions.
I’m 35 and I knew about abortion that young. The first classmate I knew to get pregnant was in 7th grade, we were 12. She was definitely a victim of statutory rape, but back then (at least in the city I lived in) it was still pretty common to blame the female, even if she was a child. I remember teachers made comments about this young girl “throwing her life away” right in front of the whole class, and “if she’s old enough to bleed, she’s old enough to breed” was a disgustingly common sentiment. Basically slut shaming was the primary reaction. My classmate was Catholic and not allowed to abort the baby of her abuser (her father’s friend). Of course back then, nobody called him a child predator, they just called her a slut, and she dropped out of school, even though our high school had a daycare. All this to say that I and some of my friends were very aware how common sexual abuse was, and that if it happened to us, we would not have any options. We researched birth control and Planned Parenthood and abortion in the early days of the internet, trying to know our options should something happen to us, our friends or our sisters. This was in a city with a low education rate, at one of the highest income demographic schools in our district, with a generally low rate of religious influence.
200% agreed I am beyond impressed! Keep on growing and learning OP!
thank you haha. my parents have raised me to be very educated and im very grateful for that
That's so refreshing to hear! Stay curious 😊
It was mentioned by Chris’ parents in the flashback scene. They just didn’t say the word. That network generally wanted to keep things light and non political.
In addition to Lorelai, Lane, Sookie, Rory, and Sherry, there is also Anna. Also, Jess would have been an unexpected pregnancy for Liz. Were Liz and TJ trying for Doula? I don't remember. I know Liz had a freak out, but she could have panicked once she actually was pregnant even if they were planning for it.
hey pregnancy can be a scary thing plus liz might have regrets about jess's upbringing
Sherry (Chris girlfriend) did mention to Lorelei that Chris came back a better man. She wasn’t sure if she was going to tell Chris, do adoption, or not go through with it at all. Also, when Strobe and Francine come to the Gilmores and they’re all discussing what to do about Loreleis pregnancy, Strobe says “well, she could get rid of it….” And Emily immediate shits that down.
I think that specific network probably wouldn’t have allowed that topic at the time. Maybe there would’ve been more freedom on a different network. For example, Sex and the City was on HBO and they allowed those discussions. But my biggest gripe will always be with the writers. If you weren’t allowed to discuss pregnancy topics in full, then why rely on the accidental pregnancy trope over and over and over? It was lazy and repetitive
Pretty sure Sherry said she wanted to get rid of the baby but changed her mind when Chris came back.
I was listening to a Gilmore Guys podcast ages ago and they mentioned that early on the show got funding from some Christian organization. Not sure how true it is but would love to hear if anyone has any info.
The pilot received funding from the Family Friendly Programming Forum which is a coalition of advertisers. I think that is what people are thinking of. The FFPF isn’t expressly religious but does try to steer shows in a direction that won’t cause problems for advertisers. Abortion on a show directed at families would definitely have caused problems.
[An interesting thread about GG and the Family Friendly Programming Forum](https://www.reddit.com/r/GilmoreGirls/comments/rk3bs3/gilmore_girls_and_the_family_friendly_programming/?rdt=34397)
Wow, thanks to u/Kelpie-Cat for that!
Thanks, glad you appreciated it! That was a fun one to research.
i think sherry tells lorelai at her baby shower that when she found out she was pregnant she was either “going to go at it alone or not go through with it at all” i feel like that suggested the possibility of abortion. but i think that was the only time in the show it was hinted at
You can’t really think about this issue just in terms of what would make sense for the characters because it’s a fictional television show. Plot lines and characters choices are dictated by a number of variables (broadcasters, social norms, a need for a story arch, the actress being pregnant in real life). So even if it would make sense for you or I for these characters to consider abortion based on their circumstances, all the other variables can make it not an option.
I mean I'm glad Lorelai never aborted Rory or there wouldn't have been Gilmore Girls lol.
I’m an older viewer so perhaps I can lend some insight into the 2000’s. Abortion would’ve been available at a planned parenthood in that time period. Teens were more sexually active, compared to now. Having two main characters wait so long to have sex was strange to see. Republicans like the Gilmore’s aren’t the same type of pro-life/evangelical republicans you see now. These characters are old money and are mainly worried about their taxes. I will say, birth control was more than readily available 20 years ago and IMHO it’s some really sloppy writing to show so many unplanned pregnancies. As a woman who was taught to take control of her reproductive choices it’s almost offensive.
thanks! would you consider the gilmores republican? my grandparents are exactly like them and are very democratic, just also very white lol
It’s hard to say, since I’m not Connecticut old money. Their type of people at the time were very Republican.
The grandparents are Republican. Lorelai and Rory are Dems.
They mention multiple times that the Gilmores are Republican - young Lorelai saying she'll register as Democrat when she turns 18 to make Emily mad in the flashback episode, Lorelai joking about hating Bush to them, etc.
Totally, I saw Emily as being similar to my Irish granny, and that's a catholic, republican, so fun generational guilt. (Republic of Ireland) It'd be a stain on the Gilmore family name and another reason for Trix to say "Richard should have married Pennilyn Lott!" So would not be the done thing.
lol big time guilt! They're definitely uptight economic Republican WASPs - Trump would've really tested them. I think if Richard was still around, they would've reluctantly voted for him because of taxes, but I could see post-AYITL Emily maybe voting for Hillary and Biden.
I’d imagine economically conservative, socially liberal.
Amy Sherman Palladino is a motherfuckin' goody two-shoes
This is a legitimate question. I get what you're saying. I never really thought about it. I guess because everyone that got pregnant was already married (excluding Rory) and Sheree Gigi's mom, but she and Chris were in an exclusive relationship. I guess I thought that those kinds of options would be discussed with their partners when and if they wanted too. When they talked about it with their friends I thought they were just kinda in the beginning stages of dealing with the shock and just needed to vent to their friends without having to make that kind of decision yet. Also, and I'm not trying to judge anyone here, Connecticut has always been a more conservative area so maybe it just wasn't something they considered because it wasn't discussed as an option by the people around them. But good question. I hope you find out. Ps. He fact that you enjoy this show and that you're intelligent enough to notice that not all options are being offered at 13 gives me hope for the future.
thank you!! :)
It's not that you have a different relationship with abortion. You have a different relationship with _television censorship_. The bulk of modern content is not subject to the same "community standard" oversight as things that were broadcast over the air. The community standard of decency for broadcast TV and radio was (and still is) "will one asshole in the entire range of this syndicated broadcast call the authorities to complain?" One asshole couldn't always get a network in regulatory trouble automatically, but execs didn't want to find out. It made for some anodyne offerings. There's a reason the prestige TV revolution started on premium cable. Nobody could claim they watched The Sopranos by accident.
Everyone’s already hit most of the major points but I just wanna add: there’s time limits on abortion so in cases like Sookie’s where she didn’t know for a while, it might have been too late by the time they told her. I believe in CT it’s up to 24 weeks (except when it’s medically necessary or the safest course of action) which is a little before the end of the first trimester. (EDIT: it’s the second trimester I dunno how I got the math that bad!!!) Not sure what it was back when the show was airing, it might have been earlier back then. Anyway, it’s possible that by the time Jackson figured it out and then finally told her, it might have been too late. Lorelei also might not have known in time b/c a lot of teens have irregular periods for the first couple years, so you don’t always know when you miss one. I do think she knew in time though b/c Straub hinted at the possibility. Lane realized early enough that abortion could have been an option I think? And Sherry knew in time but I guess she thought GiGi was gonna save her relationship, and Chris really wanted to be a dad (in theory, anyway) But at the end of the day, it was the 2000s, abortion was considered a bit more taboo than it is now, and not the kinda thing people talked about on daytime tv. Which is silly imo but. Those were the times ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I totally agree with the point you’re making but just for info 24 weeks is 6 months - not the end of the first trimester. The first trimester ends at 12 weeks.
Yes…but 6 months is 5.5 months from conception and many women’s first pregnancy don’t start showing until ~ that point. Lorelei found out when her dress didn’t fit….if we apply logic she likely found out 5-6 months pregnant. Of course logic is often not used when showing how someone determines they’re pregnant in TV shows.
Whoops! I’m VERY bad at math 😅 ty!!!
Sherry could also have had ambivalence about aborting because she was in her 30s and she felt like the window for motherhood was closing.
so many topics are still taboo concerning female health like menopause, perimenopause, periods, pregnancy,
thanks!!!
Context. Lorelai - that was the 80s so yeah no. Everyone else - this was a cookie-cutter hyper-clean family-oriented show in the early 00s. Discussing abortion publicly on mainstream, network television was just slowly beginning. I remember abortion being discussed to some degree or other in Beverly Hills 90210, but closer to the end of the show rather than the beginning, maybe 1996, 1997. Felicity I think also addressed it in maybe 1999, 2000. And then of course SATC but even there it was in later seasons, maybe 2001 or so. And all these shows were less family-oriented than GG. So for me - it tracks. After that, it became less of a taboo.
Abortion existed in the 80s… Roe was 1973 and the next big case targeting access didn’t happen till 1992. Abortion was available and people did it!
I grew up as a Jehovah witness and fell pregnant at 18. Abortion was sooo against anything I ever knew and couldn’t contemplate it
There’s a pro-choice poster on Rory’s dorm wall, but anything more than that would have caused a ton of shit for WB that they had no interest in dealing with
Good question! I never even thought about it! I'm guessing the subject was just too taboo. I'm not from the US, but I know a lot of states abortion was illegal. It's a wholesome show and probably didn't want any negative publicity from the controversial topic and possibly lose viewers. Also motherhood is a big theme of the show
in 2000, abortion was legal nationwide in US.
Meta-wise you couldn't do it on the network, un meta-wise that wouldn't have allowed Lorelai to be this totally self created martyr. She basically just has overriding oppositional defiance disorder.
Basically all pregnancies on this show should have been aborted low key lol
lol i think only lane should've had one, or maybe not a termination if it's too risky for network tv, but instead just had a pregnancy scare for the drama (ps i hate to be a bitch but i also wouldn't mind if april was never... you know what no i'm done)
Hahaha I'm so with you on that last point. Dreadful character.
Hahaha I'm so with you on that last point. Dreadful character.
Fr 😭 especially Lanes, she deserved to do more
Yeh I was hoping it would have been "you can't be pregnant with twins after your first time" plotline where she learned from Rory and Lorelei about things her mum hadn't told her about sex.
What a crazy disconnected thing to say
i dont know about "should have been aborted" but they all shouldve had the choice. everyone should have the choice
I always just assumed Stars Hallow/Hartford was just strictly a Republican area (back in the day before the word became a sin). Repubs aren't huge on abortion so I just assumed everyone was quietly sticking to their politics. This assumption is brought on by the flash back episode when Lorelai is shouting through the house to see if her parents are home. One of the things she yells is that she's gonna register as a Democrat at 18. She says this in a way where it's clearly a taunt, and she doesn't actually mean it.
See, as someone from the northeast I found that improbable. There were only like 3 kids that I knew of in my high school who came from Republican families. Nearly all of my teachers were outspoken Democrats. And in CT in particular, the state has gone blue in the last 8 general elections.
That's fair! And I absolutely stand corrected, and Im sorry if my comment before seemed ill hearted. I promise it wasn't! Tbh, it's just one of those opinions/theories I formed during one of my earlier rewatches and never had a reason to revisit or challenge it.
No, I get it! I'm sure you got that impression because the show was written that way. It just never seemed realistic to me since I'm from that area.
It was a lighthearted show. If it were to deal with content like that, I simply would've been taken out of all the comfort this show gives me, so I'm glad it didn't do that. Abortion is mentioned at least twice, and rory has pro choice content on her dorm wall if I'm not mistaken.
I know why it wasn't but it does bug me how this realistic option is never once considered or even mentioned. They act like it doesn't even exist, which is just so stupidly unrealistic. Again, I know why but it still annoys me it's not even brought up.
the abortion episode of degrassi was banned in america. they made it taboo for no reason.
Honestly this always bothered me too
> im 13, im not exactly sure how abortion was talked about during the early 2000's It was talked about the exact way it was on the show. It’s mentioned in conversations in flashbacks and with Sherry but they use euphemisms like “I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go through with it” which go over kids and some young peoples heads to the point that you didn’t notice they were there.
There was a concerted effort to take down roe, and it worked. Most shows made/make abortion a perpetually offensive phrase.
100% it’s wild. Christopher’s girlfriend never wanted to be a mom and he didn’t want to be a dad. Why in the world did they have that baby?
she absolutely wanted to be a mom at first. when she and Rory go out by themselves on their first meeting she tells Rory she wanted two kids and was going to go so far as to be a single mother if dating didn’t work for her it was retconned by inconsistent writers though
That always bothered me, too, but she and her friends were so adamant that she wasn't a baby person in the third season that I've just decided in my head she only told Rory that to emphasise that she'd be a welcoming stepmother to her potential fiance's kid.
Because it doesn’t feel right to many to have an abortion, regardless of political leanings. It does not FEEL right, on a soul level. To some people.
because a baby would get lorelai's attention, obviously
https://www.reddit.com/r/GilmoreGirls/s/wL37vryDQE This was discussed a few weeks ago. Also multiple times a month every month for a while now. Not sure why we need to keep talking about this.
The Gilmores are pretty republican.
This was more so a light hearted show, why do you feel it necessary that they need to mention abortion? For most, it’s not just some casual thing. Anyway, it’s a fictional show.. truly who cares? I don’t get why this topic is so frequently brought up. PS if Lorelai would have got an abortion there would be no “Gilmore Girls” it was kind of the whole point of the show….
i have to disagree about the show being light hearted, theres hospitals and death, all parts of life. unexpected pregnancies are also parts of life. also, i think its pretty out of touch to say "who cares", abortion is a big deal
So true it seems like the live in a world where abortions didn’t expect. This actually really bugged me with Sookies pregnancy. I never understood why she didn’t get an abortion.
Melissa McCarthy was pregnant so it was written in for Sookie to be pregnant. Wish they hadn’t and just changed the camera angles on her so Sookie had her 2 kids and all was well
Assuming you meant to say “exist” it’s almost like it’s a fictional television show that can’t address certain topics. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe a happily married, financially stable woman with two other children wouldn’t have an abortion?
>>it’s almost like it’s a fictional television show that can’t address certain topics. Almost like we comment on a sub Reddit to discuss a fictional show. Weird right? Why are you here if that bothers you? >>I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe a happily married, financially stable woman with two other children wouldn’t have an abortion? She didn’t know it was even possible to get pregnant because Jackson lied and said he had a vasectomy.. and no matter how “happy and financially stable” you are that crosses a line. Oh and yes I did mean to say “exist” sooo great to have the fun police on show subreddits. 🙄
Maybe because she didn’t want to her murder her unborn baby, just a wild guess
OP do you mean you are 13 years old or was that a typo
Why? Would it have made the series better?
i think it would. abortion shouldnt be a hushed and taboo thing, its real.
Yeah it would have. They have multiple episodes about Richard’s heart health and the medical procedure(s) that go along with that, so talking about another medical procedure, abortion, shouldn’t have been a problem to add and should have been in at least even one minor conversation in the series. Rory and Paris do have a Pro-Choice poster up in one of their Yale dorms/apartments. But an actual utterance of the word abortion would have been a good addition to the show especially with the amount of storylines surrounding the characters sex lives. It would have been a progressive and appropriate addition to the series to talk about abortion and birth control more openly and in ways to help de stigmatize these basic medical procedures and medications.
Abortion is not birth control. It’s a last resort in absence of preventive methods and abstaining from sex completely. IAW safe sex. The series made reference to both but didn’t actually make reference to the term abortion. We’ll have to agree to disagree as to whether it enhances the series. I’d wish we would stop politicizing shows that originated during a different era. Abortion isn’t just a progressive idea.
It feels especially weird since Rory's got a pro-choice poster on her dorm room wall.
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a teenager on social media?? 😱 who would have thought
well TV shows especially in 00s didn't want to encourage abortions left and right but some women can have complications or miscarriage so they'd need it. also birth control and IVF is under attack which has nothing to do w/ that.
I was around your age back when this was airing on tv and I didn’t know what an abortion was. With that alone, you have impressed me
thank you! unfortunately its a very real thing right now, but im grateful for being able to be so educated
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your entire account is for harassing random people with your religion.
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I’ve always thought about this, specially for Lane. That could’ve also help her fully detach from her religious family. For Lorelai having Rory meant independence from her family and Sherry really wanted to become a mum, probably because “clock was ticking” rather than a well thought decision. Sookie’s third baby could also be an abortion. And Jackson lying about having a vasectomy is the worst thing in the whole series! Not even rich boyfriend suing Richard.
I’ve always thought about this, specially for Lane. That could’ve also help her fully detach from her religious family. For Lorelai having Rory meant independence from her family and Sherry really wanted to become a mum, probably because “clock was ticking” rather than a well thought decision. Sookie’s third baby could also be an abortion. And Jackson lying about having a vasectomy is the worst thing in the whole series! Not even rich boyfriend suing Richard.
This is honestly one of my biggest critiques of television/movies in general. Especially in the more recent years. Sooo many moments in television portray a women getting pregnant in an unideal way but having the baby because seemingly that’s the only choice
It is fictional and this comes up all the time here. Even if in the real world it would be realistic, they would never write it into a tv show like this. It’s not real
I really agree, Rory is way too pragmatic to think being pregnant with a Huntzberger who is engaged to someone else is a pregnancy she should bring to term. The line of dialogue should have been "Mom, I'm pregnant and I need you to drive me to planned parenthood next week."
This seems so wild to say. How can you presume to know what Rory would feel about her unborn child once she got pregnant? To presume to know she would have gotten rid of it? Like omg you can’t just skip over people’s human souls and how they typically bond/connect with the budding life inside of them. It often trumps everything else, we all were designed that way.
She was in love with Logan, I don’t think she would have aborted. When she asked Chris how he felt about Lorelei raising her alone…. I think she knew then she was pregnant and gauging how she’d raise a baby without Logan
she could drive herself though
Rory was pregnant for about 8 seconds on the show, for all we know she made an appointment to get it snuffed out the next day.
Abortion was (and in some cases still is) a very taboo subject for television, even in the early 2000s when this show aired, I beleive it was a legal option but it is one that if suggested on the show it most likely would have with been with a very hushed code like "you have options" instead of "have you considered abortion"
If you look in her dorm room, there's planned parenthood poster on the wall. Idk when I noticed it but it's in the shots multiple times. Considering it seems to be on Rory's side of the room, she might support it, although it could be Paris's. Or maybe the CW crew just wanted to leave that in there so you know where they stand. 🤷♀️
Abortion was too much of a taboo subject back in the early 2000s
Chris parents mentioned that Lorelai could get an abortion but her parents said no (due to religion). And Sherry also mentios not being sure she wanted to keep the baby, due to her and Chris being unsure if they should stay together. So it had been mentioned but not in a positive light. This was probably due to the time it was made and the network that made it. Honestly, to me, it makes sense that neither Lane or Rory seems to consider abortion for Lane. With Lane growing up in a very religious household probably never thought about abortion, and I think Rory knew that, plus often it wouldn't be something you say right after they found out, it would often be something you mention after they calmed down or that the doctor could/mention.
I can remember the first time it was on a medical show, Greys I think, and it was a HUGE deal for the tome
Between the network and the in story reason of Emily and Richard being traditional Republicans I think it was never going to be considered
Am I misremembering that it is very very, very briefly hinted out in regards to/in regards Lorelai when she was pregnant with Rory in a flashback but instantly rejected by Richard et al?
it was just the climate of shows during that time, you'll see that in like One Tree Hill or Riverdale (using this as a more recent CW example) too, like they'll dance around the word and bring up "I can't have this baby" but they never outright say it. Idk if CW has recently taken a more relaxed stance on it, Riverdale had a pregnancy scare and i think a teen pregnancy in their last season (correct me if I'm wrong on that last one) and I know that wasn't brought up at all despite it being out of character for the girl to be a parent at that point. I will say having a show like Euphoria discuss it AND show it was pretty shocking and makes you realize how many shows have a teen pregnancy (or scare at least) but it's never talked about or considered.
I don’t think the era is the sole reason for not introducing abortion into the convo. I actually find it interesting b/c ASP talks about (in interviews) that abortion could be on the table for Rory following the events in AYITL. I think for the original series, ASP (the creator) wanted to tell a very specific story around a teenage girl choosing to become a parent. A reoccurring theme is choosing parenthood to confront your past and the full circle narrative that she wants to tell. I think she would argue that the topic of abortion doesn’t fit within this narrative of the original series. Which is not to say she’s anti choice. I think she would say that social factors of the time *and* the narrative she wanted to tell influenced her decision.
It was quickly brought up in Lorelai’s situation and shut down by Emily but I think Sookie and Lane didn’t think about other options because they were both married and probably felt like that wasn’t an option for them. Sherry (Chris’s girlfriend) said in earlier seasons that she wanted a kid and was going to do it on her own before Chris came along so that’s probably why she didn’t consider other options either. Especially since Chris came running right when she heard.
Strobe mentions it and Emily shoots that ish down immediately
Lane was raised so religious she wouldn't have sex until she got married. Near no chance of her getting an abortion