A character on Grey’s Anatomy had a post-20-week abortion: Where’s the discussion?

Last month, Dr. April Kepner, a surgeon on Grey’s Anatomy, and her husband, Dr. Jackson Avery, made the heartbreaking choice to terminate a wanted pregnancy due to severe issues with the fetus that meant the baby would be unlikely to survive and would be in constant pain if he did. This storyline dealt with this issue at a time when the availability of post-20-week abortions, which are already very difficult to obtain, are continually under attack. The storyline was all the more interesting because April is a devout Christian who had frequently expressed her anti-choice viewpoints.

I expected to see coverage of this important, sympathetic and complex decision in the feminist blogosphere, but I have been unable to find any coverage, including here. Feminist bloggers often urge greater coverage of abortion in mainstream media and have committed a lot of attention to this issue in the past, so why was April’s abortion so ignored?

It is true that the word “abortion” was never used in the episode, but it was also abundantly clear that an abortion is the decision that they make. Dr. Nicole Herman, who performs the procedure, states that this is a “termination” of a potentially viable fetus, and they must agree in writing that they do not want the hospital to attempt to keep the fetus alive after April delivers.

Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy’s creator and producer, has dealt with abortion several times before on Grey’s Anatomy, as well as on the spinoff Private Practice. Those episodes involved a much more explicit discussion of abortion. But why must the issue be extensively discussed on the show in order for it to get attention? Other than the fact that obtaining a post-20-week abortion was made to appear much easier than it generally is in real life, the show portrayed this event as it is likely to happen to real women and couples. Dr. Tiller was killed for refusing to stop helping women just like April.

Despite the fact that most people likely find April’s story and decision very sympathetic, legislators across the — along with the harassment that abortion providers are forced to face — are making it more and more difficult for women like April to make the decision that is right for themselves and their families.

Someone needed to stand up and say, “When people support 20-week bans, they’re making it impossible for women across the country to get the care that they need.” April’s story showed that. Where was the feminist voice?

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