ABC’s Private Practice Takes On Teen Pregnancy
Last night, ABC’s Private Practice took on the very challenging issue of teenage pregnancy in a story arc that began with last week’s show when 15 year old Maya announced to Addison that she was pregnant. The show well depicts the shock, the emotion and the difficulty of handling the pro-choice/pro-life discussion when a teenager is at the center of the discussion. It was a raw episode at times and in the end we are left with a 15 year old opting to keep her pregnancy. It’s tempting to criticize the writers for not focusing enough on Maya but, in truth, the show was more realistic than you may realize.
In the episode, Maya’s mom, Naomi, basically freaks out from the start. This pro-life mom first storms out of the room then tries to force an abortion onto her daughter. When that doesn’t work, she shows Maya a woman in labor only to have Maya entranced by the sight of a baby and determined to keep the pregnancy even more. The show concludes with Naomi leaving the building not talking to anyone, in tears. True to life? You bet. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*