Stop the presses! There is a new movie which actually depicts a character going through with an abortion (gasp!). 
You would think that since abortion has been a legal medical procedure since 1973, this would be a more prevalent theme in film and a less spectacular event. Yet, Hollywood lately only seems to feature characters carrying their pregnancies to full term. Juno, Knocked Up, even an episode from Sex and the City all feature women choosing against abortion (wait a minute, they choose?? They have a choice?).
When abortion is shown in film, there are usually dire consequences. Take for example Dirty Dancing—set in 1963, ten years before Roe was law, dancer Penny receives an illegal “botched” abortion and nearly bleeds to death. In If These Walls Could Talk, two of the three plot lines end in death. And in Vera Drake, Vera is convicted and actually serves time for performing abortions.
Kudos to Greenberg, starring Ben Stiller, for tackling this issue so non-judgmentally and nonchalantly. The one bummer moment? They refer to the abortion as a “D & C.” C’mon. If you’re gutsy enough to feature abortion in your film, you should also be gusty enough to have your characters utter the big “A” word. Maybe next time.
