Research shows abortion storylines can shape public understanding, making accurate representation more important than ever.
Four years ago this week, the Supreme Court issued a monumental decision when it revoked federal protections for abortion in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. Since then, some TV shows have attempted to grapple with the changing political and legal landscape of abortion access. But often, they end up contributing to myths about abortion.
At a time when many people aren’t even sure if abortion is still legal in their state and misinformation comes not only from social media but directly from the White House, television may be the best hope for wide dissemination of accurate information about abortion.
Before Dobbs, the majority of TV shows with abortion plotlines included very few depictions of legal barriers to care. Beginning in fall 2022, though, hit shows with millions of viewers per episode, like Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order and New Amsterdam, explored the impact of the Dobbs decision.
Grey’s featured a plotline about a mom with an ectopic pregnancy whose doctor wasn’t sure if he could legally perform the abortion. On the way to treatment, she began hemorrhaging and died. Dr. Addison gave an impassioned plea to the EMTs on the highway: “It’s the lawmakers who should be made to come out here … have a look at the carnage they’ve caused,” she pleads. “Women’s lives are on the line, and our hands, that are trained to help them, our hands are tied.”
These types of plotlines may not change anyone’s mind about abortion, but our research does find that they can increase knowledge about abortion and increase the likelihood that someone might support a friend seeking an abortion.
That’s why it matters when TV gets it wrong, too.
When it comes to demographics, for instance, white characters and characters of color are about equally likely be in an abortion plotline. That changes if the plotline includes depictions of barriers to care; white characters are more likely to be portrayed struggling to access abortion care than characters of color.
TV reinforces the myth that abortion restrictions are a “white women’s issue,” when the truth is that abortion restrictions disproportionately impact communities of color.
Also, most people accessing abortion care today are parents—but on television, only 10 percent are depicted as raising children. When we do see TV moms getting abortions, they often reinforce conservative ideas about motherhood, like the only “good” mom is one who sacrifices everything, including her well-being and her career, for her children.
Most real-life moms are likely to have some personal experience with abortion, whether it’s having an abortion or supporting a friend through an abortion. But TV erases those experiences almost completely.
… People who have had abortions shared that watching abortion storylines helped reaffirm that abortion was the right decision for them.
Other common elements of abortion care in the United States simply aren’t portrayed at all. For example, medication abortion, accessed by receiving pills at a clinic or via telehealth, is the most common type of abortion in the United States. Yet if you only learned about abortion from TV, you’d barely know about this method. Only 2 percent of abortion plotlines in 2025 included abortion pills. This is a huge missed opportunity, since our research finds that when TV shows do portray characters having safe medication abortions, audiences correctly believe that abortion pills are a safe way to end a pregnancy.
The unfortunate irony of the post-Dobbs era is that it seems that television has become both more willing to name political barriers to abortion access while simultaneously promoting narratives that further stigmatize abortion.
We’ve seen a recent troubling return to a problematic TV trope: the “averted abortion” plotline, in which a character almost has an abortion but ultimately decides against it, often at the last minute. It’s a familiar device, one that showed up frequently in the sitcoms of the 1990s (think of 90210, Roseanne and Party of Five) and has popped up every now and then since (for example, Juno in 2007).
Just this past year alone, we’ve seen this trope recur on shows, including Harlem, Mythic Quest, Matlock, Will Trent, And Just Like That and Doctor Odyssey.
This year, Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ entire premise starts with the title character going against the advice of everyone in her life by choosing not to have an abortion. The message these storylines send is clear: Abortion is an outcome to be considered, perhaps, but never purposefully chosen.
While it may feel trivial to focus on TV plotlines when real people are struggling to access vital healthcare, research on narrative persuasion often finds that fictional storylines can shape viewers’ knowledge, beliefs and perceptions, particularly related to health issues.
Abortion is an especially important experience to depict on television because it remains highly stigmatized and misunderstood among vast swaths of the American public. In fact, in my own research, I found that people who have had abortions shared that watching abortion storylines helped reaffirm that abortion was the right decision for them.
In a post-Dobbs world, it simply isn’t enough for a character to consider an abortion, or even have an abortion, and never mention it again. Audiences crave authentic, relatable characters grappling with complex issues, and want to see more abortion storylines that interweave issues of work, caretaking and family life. Showing the full reality of abortion care—from who accesses that care to the hurdles they face along the way—isn’t just responsible storytelling. It’s compelling television.
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A note from Ms. editors: We want to hear from you for The Majority, a new campaign collecting stories about how reproductive freedom has enabled readers to build the lives they want and need. Poll after poll shows a majority of Americans support reproductive healthcare access. Yet public debate overlooks the lives shaped by abortion access, contraception, IVF, miscarriage care, maternal healthcare or comprehensive sex education—countless women who chose to pursue an education, have children, not have children, protect their health and chart their own future. Add your voice and complete the sentence: “Access to reproductive choices gave me the freedom to….” Together, these stories will help show not only why reproductive freedom remains a majority value, but also what it makes possible.
Look to these trusted groups if you or a loved one needs to know more about reliable abortion care:
- A one-stop-shop for abortion seekers: I Need An A
- Safe websites to buy abortion medication: Aid Access, Plan C Pills, Abortion Finder
- If you need help affording abortion care, contact an abortion fund near you.
- To protect your digital privacy when planning your abortion, click here.
- For free legal help as a patient or doctor, call If/When/How’s Repro Helpline: 844-868-2812
- For medical advice, contact the Miscarriage & Abortion Hotline: 833-246-2632
- If you need to know the abortion law in your state, look to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
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