Showtime's Drama 'Shameless' Under Fire for Obscene '#AbortionRules' Episode
The Showtime television drama "Shameless" is receiving criticism for airing an episode "#AbortionRules" that involves the character Fiona Gallagher attempting to convince her sister to have an abortion.
The #AbortionRules episode, the second in the comedy-drama's sixth season, follows the complicated plot of Gallagher, who finds out that she is unexpectedly pregnant. As she deals with her own pregnancy, she continues to try to convince her sister, Debbie, whose pregnancy was planned, to have an abortion, as she feels Debbie became pregnant for the wrong reasons.
Viewers have taken to social media to criticize the latest "Shameless" episode, with some calling the show's controversial topic "immoral" and "obscene."
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"Shameless is a fantastic name for a show that would title an episode #AbortionRules. Other possible names 'abhorrent, immoral and obscene,'" WNJC radio host and outspoken Christian Carmine Sabia shared on Twitter.
Hakim Ramalla, a self-described "conservative," added on Twitter: "Not surprising that the filth #Shameless is promoting the hashtag #AbortionRules — abortion kills, folks."
The ABC television drama "Scandal" has also received criticism for its recent portrayal of abortion.
The show's season finale that premiered in November 2015 depicts main character Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, undergoing an abortion procedure as the Christmas song "Silent Night" is played in the background.
Critics denounced the episode as being a promotion for the Planned Parenthood abortion provider, which had been in recent media headlines for a series of undercover videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that show Planned Parenthood executives discussing the sell of aborted babies' tissue, organs and limbs for profit.
The Media Research Center, a conservative content analysis group, said in a statement at the time that the "Scandal" finale was "pretty much an hour-long advertisement for Planned Parenthood."
"In the most disturbing scene, the main character has an abortion to 'Silent Night' (a hymn celebrating the birth of Jesus) playing in the background. ... This is Hollywood's moral depravity on full display," the statement added.
The topic of abortion has been addressed in a host of other contemporary television series, including the Netflix original series "House of Cards," in which character Claire Underwood admits to having three abortions, and "Orange is the New Black," in which character Tiffany Doggett struggles with the ramifications of having six abortions.
