It’s not every day that the question of wine selection to accompany an abortion is brought up in a tense moment at an abortion clinic, yet here we are. According to one ABC drama, it was good practice to run an abortion story in Lent.
Victoria Hughes (Barrett Doss), a firefighter known as Vic on ABC’s Station 19. She discovers she is pregnant even though she is out and about with Theo Ruiz, (Carlos Miranda). At first, she wasn’t even going to tell him about the pregnancy but she decided to do the right thing and tell him. She informed him that she decided against going ahead with the pregnancy and didn’t bother to ask Theo about her feelings.
It’s a special kind of selfishness that draws a woman to think it isn’t the right of a baby’s father to know about a pregnancy. Theo is still in love with Vic though and follows her to the clinic for abortion.
Dr. Carina DeLuca (Stefania Spampinato) performs a final ultrasound and tells Vic that she is five-and-a-half weeks pregnant. Vic doesn’t want to look at the screen during the ultrasound, so Carina turns the screen away and turns off the sound. Clearly, Vic doesn’t want to see or hear the reality of carrying a new life. Vic sings a comfort song during the ultrasound.
I love a good show tune as much as anyone, but c’mon, that was weird.
As Vic and Theo wait for the first dose of the abortion drug Mifepristone to kick in, Vic inquires about what wine pairs best with an abortion. It was a joke, to relieve tension.
Vic: Well, I’m not really sure what one talks about when they’re waiting for their abortion to show up
Carina: Hi. Sorry, I am late.
Vic: It’s okay.
Carina: So, um, I’m gonna have to do a vaginal ultrasound one last time.
Vic: Okay. Okay, that’s fine. But, no thanks for seeing it.
CarinaYou can.
Vic: Yeah.
Carina: And volume off.
Vic: Okay. ♪♪It’s so lovely to be a lady
TheoShow tuning is what you do? Now?
Vic: It was worth it. ♪♪ How lovely to wear mascara ♪♪ ♪♪ And smile a woman’s smile ♪♪
Carina: Okay. Now we’re ready.
Vic: Okay. Are you imagining that your mistake was so big and the truth is out?
CarinaOfficially, you’re now at 5 1/2 weeks. Mifepristone is what I am going to give you right now. What this does is stop any growth in the pregnancy immediately. Your recent medical experience… You are welcome to stay for an hour. Please let me know if you have any questions. Okay?
Vic: Okay.
Carina: Here.
Vic: Thanks.
CarinaPage me also if you are feeling sick. If you vomit, you risk to lose the medication before it takes effect.
Vic: Okay, that’s not what we want, so…
Carina: I’ll take that.
Vic: MM. Thanks.
Carina: In a moment, I will be back.
Vic: So, what wine do you think pairs best with an abortion? It’s an earthy, red wine, I think. It’s gotta be.
Theo: Vic. Stop. Hey. We are the only ones responsible. Okay? It doesn’t matter if you do something slapstick.
Vic: Okay, well, my jokey thing is who I am, so if you want… You can go.
Theo: No. No. I’m good.
Vic is taken home by Theo, who watches her while she receives Misoprostol. Theo speaks about his preparation for and the aftermath of the abortion. Vic gets the impression that Theo would want the baby, but Vic tells him otherwise after he finally answers her questions.
Vic learns about Theo’s mom and the abortion she had. He was a policeman, and his mother was already pregnant at the time. His Catholic mother, he said, was distraught and decided to have the baby aborted. Theo’s aunts stopped speaking to her for committing the sin of abortion and his mother never forgave herself. Theo ended his story by using the Bible to excuse his mother’s decision. Pro-choice supporters do this when they feel they have done something that is morally unacceptable.
“In the actual Bible,” Theo said, “Jesus is forgiving.”
Also, he quoted a Bible passage.
The most disturbing part of Vic’s abortion story is how nonchalant she is about abortion. She told Theo that when she began having sex, she thought if she got pregnant, she would “just sprint straight to the abortion clinic, no question, but this is…I don’t know. This is hard, it’s harder than I thought it would be and the hard part (the actual abortion) hasn’t even started yet.”
She became a troubled, older woman from her younger self. She consented to the abortion.
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