“Station 19,” a spin-off of the medical soap “Grey’s Anatomy,” promoted abortion in a recent storyline. Shonda Rhimes, the producer of both shows, has served on the board of Planned Parenthood and is an outspoken abortion supporter; she routinely uses her projects to promote abortion.
During the episode, titled “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” Carina DeLuca is asked by Grey’s Anatomy character Miranda Bailey to volunteer at her “reproductive rights clinic.” DeLuca is an OB/GYN volunteering at a free clinic for underprivileged patients at Station 19, a firehouse, but Bailey wants her to help with abortion patients as well.
Miranda: Have you thought more about volunteering additional hours at my clinic?
Carina: Is it still called volunteering if you’re forcing me to do it?
Miranda: Okay, the station’s clinic can survive without you for a few shifts.
Carina: Uh, does your husband know you’re trying to recruit me away from Station 19?
Miranda: You are an OB.
Carina: Yeah.
Miranda: I run a reproductive rights clinic. This is a no-brainer.
Carina: Okay.
Miranda: So that’s a no. Ben will understand. We need to be open longer hours, okay? And it’s not me asking. It’s the women who need us asking. The women who drive long hours from abortion-hostile states that need us to open our doors when they arrive.
Carina: That is so manipulative.
Miranda: These are facts.
On Station 19, abortion has been promoted several times, with two characters giggling over a prior abortion, and DeLuca wearing black scrubs in “protest” of women’s bodies being “held hostage” by the government.
Recently, on Grey’s Anatomy, a character was given an abortion for depression, instead of being offered actual treatment for her mental illness. Afterwards, the doctors congratulated themselves on saving the woman’s life. Another of Rhimes’ shows, “Scandal,” notoriously featured an abortion taking place at Christmas, while the song “Silent Night” played.
After the leaked draft ruling for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Grey’s Anatomy cast responded with a PSA telling women to get abortions while they still could.
Editor’s Note, 3/29/23: This article has corrected the spelling of Rhimes’ name. We regret the error.
