In Part 4 of Abortion: The Body Politic, Katie examines how abortion is explored and reflected in popular culture and Hollywood. Because whether we realize it or not, the movies we have loved and the TV shows we watch represent the collective imagination of our culture at particular moments in time. And for much of the past 50 years, that collective imagination was riddled with problematic abortion tropes that perpetuates stereotypes about the procedure and the people who seek it out. But the good news is that in the past decade, more showrunners and filmmakers — and even studios — telling more abortion stories and even taking some risks. Katie takes listeners to the front row of a new comedy show about abortion, aptly named, “Oh God A Show About Abortion,” from comedian Alison Leiby. Filmmakers Gillian Robespierre (“Obvious Child,” 2014), Rachel Lee Goldenberg (“Unpregnant,” 2020), and Dawn Porter (“Trapped,” 2016) share the origin stories of their narrative-busting movies and what more Hollywood and creatives need to do in the long fight toward reproductive rights. 

More information on this episode’s guests and resources:

• Abortion Onscreen study

• Abortion Onscreen Database

• Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health

• We Testify

TV Shows, movies and more:

• Stream Obvious Child on Prime and Hulu

• Stream Unpregnant on HBO Max
• Oh God, A Show About Abortion, by Alison Leiby

• Unpregnant, by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

• Stream Trapped on Prime

• Watch The Racial Politics of Abortion on YouTube
• Planned Parenthood’s Secret Weapon (Washington Post)