Let me say that it’s entirely possible that this is a wild overreaction by me. Sometimes things just hit you at a certain time and make you so annoyed.
However, I don’t think this is one of those things.
So I’m watching the season premiere of “Desperate Housewives” Sunday night. I know it’s a silly show with ridiculous storylines, but the writing is awesome, Eva Longoria Parker is just smoking hot (as is Teri Hatcher, still), and it entertains me.
So one of the new plot points this season is that Lynette Scavo, Felicity Huffman’s character, is pregnant with twins. Lynette has four other children with her husband Tom, and she’s somewhere in her early 40s. She and Tom have, like, no money; their pizzeria cost them a ton, and now Tom’s in school while Lynette is the only one working.
So the episode starts and Tom and Lynette are talking about the craziness of having more children. Tom (whose character has always been the weakest on the show, IMO) tries to reassure Lynette, tells her everything is going to be fine. For most of the episode, Lynette is depressed and worried and not really at all interested in having more kids.
And yet, never, ever, ever, in the entire episode, is the subject of Lynette having an abortion even implied, hinted at, or even brought up as a topic between Lynette and Tom.
OF COURSE she’s going to have the baby, because everyone wants babies! Even if you’re in your early 40s, have four kids already, have no money and are drowning in debt, it’s still awesome to have two more kids. Yippee!
Why is abortion never even brought up? Because, my friends, it is apparently still considered such a toxic issue that no mainstream show dare go near it. My goodness, ABC might lose some advertisers, draw protests, inflame the right wing who could boycott the show. A woman even discussing having an abortion on a show? We can’t have that. No, no, no. We must present reality only one way, and avoid offending anyone, anyone out there who may watch us.
Never mind the fact that abortion is legal in this country. Never mind the fact that Roe vs. Wade is almost four decades old. Never mind the fact that for millions of women each day, a decision on whether or not to abort a fetus is a heart-wrenching, real-life issue.
Look, I’m not sitting here advocating abortion, though I am definitely pro-choice. And I’m not saying the writers of the show are stupid for not making Lynette have one.
I just think it’s remarkably pathetic and cowardly that shows like this completely ignore this side of the discussion, and quite frankly treat the audience like morons by ignoring that elephant in the room.
This is why I laugh riotously when people are always accusing Hollywood of being “liberal.” The people in Hollywood may be liberal, but the shows? So far from it.
Anyway, this annoyed me.
*** Here’s something awesome: Apparently police in Lakeland, Fla. did a little Wii playing while performing a drug raid on a house (As my wife would say: Why does this stuff always happen in Florida?)
My favorite part of this is the sheriff trying to justify things. Brilliant.
Wide World of Stuff 
Hubby and I have actually had this conversation in the event of a third child “oops”. We cannot afford to have any more children. We cannot emotionally handle more children (3 under 3, I think I would off myself). And so off he when to get fixed, to avoid the 3rd child “oops”, and perhaps having to make the most difficult decision of our lives.