Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Law, Order & Abortion


Here’s a pop quiz on the subject of abortion: Where do you think the following quotes come from?

“I grew up thinking Roe v. Wade was gospel and that a woman’s right to privacy was inviolate. But after hearing that woman on the stand talk about her baby dying in her arms, I don’t know. I don’t know where privacy ends and another person’s dignity begins.”

“In its day, Roe v. Wade conformed to what we knew about human life and science. Contraception was limited. Most birth defects were untreatable. Thirty-five years later, birth defects can be corrected. Disabled children are protected by a bill of rights. Contraception of every kind is available. [But] cats and dogs have more rights than the unborn. Roe v. Wade wasn’t written in stone. It could stand another look.”

So, are these quotes from: a.) A pro-life pamphlet?

b.) A cable talk show?

c.) An upcoming Christian movie called Hidden Life?

d.) Prosecutors on last week’s episode of NBC’s Law & Order?

Surprise! It’s “d.”

law&order.JPG Law & Order has a long history of creating fictional storylines (which the producer take pains to point out in a disclaimer before the show) that mirror the headlines of the day. Earlier this year, a late-term abortion provider in Kansas was shot and killed in his church in Wichita. Fast-forward a couple of months, and the scribes behind this popular, long-running legal procedural have crafted a very similar storyline.

Despite the disclaimer, the episode (“Dignity”) begins exactly the same way the real-life story did, with a man shooting and killing a late-term abortion provider in church. In the course of bringing him to justice, the episode explores the subject of abortion with surprising sensitivity to the different stances on this issue.

Advocates of the pro-life position often get reduced to fanatical, one-dimensional stereotypes in many portrayals on TV and the big screen. The opposite tends to be true as well: The pro-choice stance is assumed to be the “correct” one. This episode of Law & Order doesn’t do that. It represents the pro-life arguments and convictions with nuance and respect.

“What’s up?” asked pro-life activist Jill Stanek in an article on the pro/con abortion website opposingviews.com. “In a town bent on stirring controversy, does Hollywood now think the pro-life view is in, hot—the new gay? Or perhaps NBC is trying to recoup lost mainstream viewers? Or most likely, since L&O’s previous 2 episodes dealing with abortion slanted way left, this was its attempt at balance? Whatever, I’ll take it.”

Me too.

What do you think?