Profaning the sacred is second nature
I wonder if there were any parts of last night’s winter finale of ABC’s “Scandal” that did not make Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards swoon. I’m guessing not.
I saw Planned Parenthood’s tweet:
Planned Parenthood Thanks to @shondarhimes for standing with Planned Parenthood & for being groundbreaking creator! #Scandal #StandWithPP
Shonda Rhimes is “Scandal” creator and head writer whose commitment to “progressive” causes she is not shy about touting. One of her characters in “Grey’s Anatomy” had an abortion.
So, what’s “groundbreaking”? Surely not an hour’s worth of passionate advocacy on behalf of the largest abortion provider between here and Jupiter. (Watching poor old PPFA fending off the barbarians is sort of like watching the cool kids’ version “The Perils of Pauline.”)
Amber Phillips writes on politics for the Washington Post’s “The Fix” column. She is a tedious and repetitious promoter of all things pro-abortion. So, what exactly does last night’s episode have to do with politics?
“Scandal” is all about politics, for one thing. For another, clearly for many reporters and columnists, the entertainment industry is a major political player, not just in the gazillions they contribute in dollars but also in its passionate advocacy of abortion now, abortion tomorrow, and abortion forever.
Phillips wants to have it both ways. One the one hand, no one has a clue the character is pregnant, then, suddenly, she’s on the table!
Phillips wants to say that, whew, one more brick removed from the wall blocking a realistic view of something “one in three women” will have. But…
In that sense, the abortion scene in “Scandal” mirrors real life. It is just not something that’s discussed regularly or with any familiarity, in homes and local communities or on a national level.
So, the character doesn’t talk over or about her abortion, it just happens out of the blue. That’s not good, because the character didn’t talk about excising that clump of cells proudly and loudly. That’s not the pro-abortion company line.
But on the other hand, since her abortion just “happens,” you could say it’s of no more importance than a spur-of-the-moment visit to a spa. Indeed that’s the morally scrunched view the high-end abortion clinic Carafem sells to its “customers.”
In the end, having reflected on the intractable debate on abortion–its “controversial” nature– Phillips laments
That’s why, for better or for worse, main characters of a major TV show going through with an abortion will likely remain an anomaly in entertainment. Even after one of the most popular shows on TV right now did just that.
But given the creator’s “progressive credentials, Rhimes would not miss the opportunity to poke Republicans in the eye. Who has the abortion? The Republican president’s girlfriend!
Get it? It is those evil Republicans who want to reroute the federal money going into PPFA’s coffers to health agencies that do not do abortions.
Isn’t that Rhimes just so clever?
Which is why an appreciative Richards cranked out a statement:
“The millions of people who (watched) ‘Scandal’ learned that our rights to reproductive health care are under attack …Never one to shy away from critical issues, Shonda Rhimes used her platform to tell the world that if Planned Parenthood lost funding … millions of people would suffer.”
It’d be interesting to know how Richards felt as she watched the actual abortion scene, if it put her in the holiday spirit, so to speak.
There is no dialogue, only music. Newbusters’ Alexa Moutevelis Coombs explains
The entire hour was an advertisement for Planned Parenthood, but the absolute worst scene was a montage set to the Christmas hymn “Silent Night,” a song that celebrates the birth of Christ, while main character Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) has an abortion, killing her and the president’s baby. …
The final scene of the winter finale is of Olivia sitting down, relishing the glass of wine she can now drink, smiling at her Christmas tree, while “Ave Maria” plays.
I wonder if Richards hoisted a glass of wine and smiled at that.
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Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
