When you think about Hollywood and the values it portrays, what words come to mind? "Liberal?" "Pro-homosexual?" Even "depraved"? What about "pro-life"?
Given the longstanding support for abortion among many in the entertainment industry, pro-life sentiments are rarely heard from Hollywood. Indeed, most programs have toed a politically correct line when it comes to the issue. Yet, this season, a few of television's traditionally left-leaning shows broke that silence by referring to a "fetus" as a "baby" or a "human being" and even giving a legitimate reason why the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion may have been flawed.
A Curious Practice
Consider the May 5 season finale of ABC's hit drama "The Practice," which brought to light whether a "fetus" can be considered a human being. The story was about a pregnant woman who kills her husband and is put on trial for murder. Her defense was that she was trying to protect the life of her preborn child. In closing arguments to the jury, defense attorney Eugene Young — played by Emmy Award nominee Steve Harris — zeroed in on remarks by the prosecuting attorney that a "fetus" is not a life:
Talk to any pregnant woman — they don't point to their stomach and say "the thing" or "the fetus." They call it "the baby." So don't tell me that for any woman that has been pregnant that there isn't a life in play. This country spends millions of dollars educating people on the importance of prenatal care because we recognize that life; because parenting starts with pregnancy, because the essence of parenting is protecting the child and that starts in the womb. She didn't have to consult with the Supreme Court to know that she had a child living inside her. Carrie Neilson (the defendant) was protecting her child and in case you didn't know, if the victim had killed that child with one of his punches the state legally could and would have charged him with murder. See, we prosecute those who kill non-viable fetuses unless it is by a legal abortion. So it is disingenuous for the state to be saying to you, "Hey there is no life." There was a life.
The point is brought home even further when the judge says to the jury: "For the purpose of this trial, you are to consider the fetus a human being."
Law, Order and the Constitution
NBC's "Law and Order," the usually left-leaning crime drama that just finished its 13th season, aired an episode in which an outright argument was made against Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion-on-demand.
The argument came in a scene where Manhattan District Attorney Arthur Branch — played by Fred Thompson, a real-life former United States senator and prosecutor — discussed the ruling's reliance upon the "right to privacy" idea with Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn, played by Elisabeth Rohm:
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BRANCH: Let me ask you something, Serena. When I said what I did about Roe v. Wade being wrong, what did you think?
SOUTHERLYN: That you let your religious beliefs cloud your legal judgment.
BRANCH: The reason I disagree with Roe has nothing to do with going to church on Sunday. That's a bad decision because it's based on a legal fiction, better known as the "right to privacy." Now you go ahead and show me (in the Constitution) where the framers mention the word "privacy." You can't, because it's not in there . . . (it's) judicial hocus-pocus. (The justices are) acting like politicians instead of justices. The Constitution is what it says it is, and nothing more.
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Even a recent controversial episode of WB's breakout hit drama "Everwood" raised questions in a thoughtful — if ultimately unsatisfying — discussion about the issue of life and when it begins. During the episode, which had a decidedly pro-abortion point of view, an 18-year-old girl requested an abortion from the "liberal" doctor in town — "Doc" Brown, played by Treat Williams. Brown, who isn't convinced a preborn baby is a person, nevertheless wrestles openly with whether or not he can perform the procedure:
"Do you know that you can take a picture of a fetus at 54 days old? All the organs are visible — not a person, not able to live outside of the womb, but a perfect possibility of a person. Kate Morris has been pregnant for 62 days."
Confused and still burdened over the loss of his wife, Julia, in a car accident a year earlier, Brown finally concluded:
"I don't know when life begins. I don't even know that . . . for a scientist, that question is answerable. But I do know when it ends. And after this year, after losing Julia, I just don't think I can be the one to end it. I can't help this girl."
What's going on?
Given these examples, is Hollywood now solidly pro-life? Hardly. The girl on "Everwood" got her abortion elsewhere, and, as it turned out, the defendant on "The Practice" apparently used the fetal-protection defense to conceal the fact that her baby was the product of an affair. Nevertheless, pro-life observers wonder if these and other examples are possible leading indicators of what could be a changing perspective among entertainers on the sanctity of life.
Amy Stephens, former head of Focus on the Family's youth culture department and the founder and director of Fresh Ideas Communication and Consulting, believes part of what's behind this season's pro-life rhetoric is television playing on the drama of the issue.
"I think a part of this is to get more 'humanity' into the abortion issue," Stephens said. "In other words, we want to portray these people as very caring and thoughtful and just wrestling over these things, rather than that they just make a very quick and callous and very cold choice."
Yet, Stephens also points out Hollywood has had a recent "baby boom" that may have caused a reality check among many in the industry. She believes more and more expectant stars have begun to reconsider their positions — after becoming pregnant.
Changing Opinions
Nationwide changes in public opinion also may be having an effect on Hollywood. A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll from Jan. 15 showed that 60 percent of those surveyed nationwide believe abortion should be legal only in a few circumstances, if at all. Only 38 percent said abortion should be legal in most, or all, circumstances.
Gary Schneeberger, associate editor of Focus on the Family Citizen magazine and a former entertainment editor for two Midwestern newspapers, suspects the entertainment industry is starting to reflect that change, too.
"Hollywood is a microcosm of the rest of the world, and in the rest of the world people are seeing . . . ultrasound images and their hearts are being changed and they're realizing, 'Wow, that is a person, not just a bunch of tissue,' " Schneeberger said. "If that is happening in the world, that has got to be happening to some extent in Hollywood."
Indeed, new research appears to bolster Schneeberger's point. Dr. Erick Keroack, medical director of "A Woman's Concern," which operates five crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) in and around Boston, conducted an 18-month analysis of women who have access to routine ultrasounds in CPCs. He compared these women to those who do not have access to ultrasounds at a CPC. The results of the as-yet unpublished study were astonishing.
"Over an 18-month period of time 75.6 percent (of those who had access to ultrasounds) opted not to abort," Keroack said.
Among those who did not have ultrasounds, only 33 percent chose not to undergo an abortion.
Turning tide?
Holly McClure, a Hollywood film critic and author of the book "Death by Entertainment," contends big-name stars also are becoming more sensitive to what their own children watch on television. As a result, many of them have begun taking on more family-friendly roles.
"They started having a conscience about what they were making and what they were doing," McClure said. "And that's when we started seeing discernment come in — a conscience and awareness. I think that mentality of being aware of your children, being aware of what they're saying, having a conscience about it has been permeating Hollywood."
Some actors and actresses also are becoming more comfortable sharing their views about life. For example, Patricia Heaton, the Emmy-winning co-star of the CBS comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond," is honorary chair for Feminists for Life of America. But those in front of the camera aren't the only ones making a difference, according to McClure.
"There are a lot of Christians in Hollywood working on these shows now . . . and people don't know it," McClure said. "(They are working) in writing, in production and behind the shows."
Carrie Earll, bioethics analyst at Focus on the Family, is excited by the changes she is seeing in Hollywood.
"I think there are definitely signs of life," Earll said. "There is evidence in all of society, across the board, that we are on a collision course (with) the truth of the humanity of the unborn child. The ultrasound technology — all of these things are on a collision course with (the) fiction-fantasy of Roe v. Wade. What we're seeing here, is a shift in the Hollywood elite to say we have a moral dilemma and to try and present that in a way that hasn't been presented before. So, that is very encouraging."
Earll is not alone in her optimism. Perhaps Ben Stein summarized it best. As Stein — an actor and professor, famous for his role in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and for the TV program "Win Ben Stein's Money" — said at the 10th Annual Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner: "I believe the tide is turning in our favor."
Amen.
