On February 17, ABC aired a made-for-television movie called “Choices,” which treaded the issue of abortion. “Choices” is packed full of 80’s values, or lack thereof, and preaches a modern day message of selfishness.
George C. Scott plays a wealthy, 62 year-old retired judge who is divorced from his first wife (due to lack of “passion” in the relationship) and is remarried to a 38 year-old beauty, played by English actress Jacqueline Bissett. Bissett’s character is sophisticated and artistic and is shown to possess a keen interest in and love for children. Melissa Gilbert (of “Little House on the Prairie” fame) plays the judge’s daughter Terry from his first marriage. She is a 19 year-old college student who, like many of today’s teenagers, plays adult games and as a result gets hurt.
At the beginning of the move, Terry discovers that she is pregnant, just after her boyfriend informs her that he would like to date other girls. She opts for abortion and gains the support of her stepmother who believes “it’s Terry’s choice.”
A new twist
She encounters a stumbling block when her father proves to be against an abortion, telling her that he will stop worrying only if she gets married and has a man to protect her. He argues that “there is a certain sanctity in a sexual union that produces a child.” Clearly the man has some morals. Still, he is portrayed as cold and unfeeling because of his concern for the “fetus” and his apparent lack of concern for his distressed daughter.
The discussion ends with the stepmother offering the viability argument, proclaiming that “it is not a being yet” and be declaring that Terry “is not ready to a wife and a mother.” (It is interesting to note that the stepmother believes Terry is quite capable of making her own choice on abortion, but not in a position to take any responsibility for her actions.)
The boyfriend is totally against abortion, calling it “murder of the soul.” The young couple dabble with the idea of marriage, until he finds himself unable to tell her that he lover her. Thus, Terry walks through the picket line outside the local abortuary depicted as boisterous and hostile, and enters the clean, sterile facility, of clam caring female doctors and oh-so-competent staff. She has her abortion and leaves the building with a slight smile and the remark that “it wasn’t so bad.”
A whole new twist is added to the plot of “Choices” when the stepmother becomes pregnant herself. When Marissa informs her husband, he accuses her of “going back on her end of the bargain.” (Ah, what a marriage!) He holds her responsible for the situation, even though she was using contraceptives. He does not want a baby at his age and orders his wife to have an abortion. Their situation, he explains, is entirely different from Terry’s.
Marissa decides, at the risk of losing her husband, to keep the baby. “I would have an abortion if I didn’t want this baby, but I do want this baby.” (Lo and behold! The fetus who was “not yet a being” in Terry’s case, has suddenly become a baby). In the end, after a near divorce, the judge accepts the pregnancy,, encouraged by his daughter who reminds him that he always taught her to be true to herself. In other words, “Marissa has to keep the baby, Dad. She is being true to herself.”
In discussing “Choices,” one has to mention the minor, yet integral, role of Marissa’s best friend. She is a woman in the process of obtaining a divorce from her husband, who has left her for a “teenager.” She is a liberated women – living on her own, caring for her baby daughter and actively involved in local politics. It is this character which provides the movie with its greatest set of clichés.
I had an abortion, younger than Terry. It was in an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn. I was in love with him and I sure didn’t want to marry him. There were just no good choices. Thank God things have changed.
In response, Marissa nods approvingly and say, “Thank God, for Terry’s sake.”
Soap Opera
What was “Choices” attempting to relay to its viewers? Simply, that abortion is a female’s choice. The fact that Terry’s father and also the father of her child oppose abortion, does not matter. It’s “her body,” consequently, her decision. After all, she didn’t want the baby. Marissa, on the other hand, wants to have a child, so obviously she does not have an abortion. Right and wrong are relative to the individual. The statement made about women who hold the pro-choice position is that they are compassionate and equally capable of loving children.
Pro-lifers are portrayed as hypocritical. They preach one thing but practice another. They are unconcerned with women who encounter crisis pregnancies and are usually chauvinistic members of the male sex. Active pro-lifers who picket abortuaries are loud and vehement and shout “murderer” at the girls who enter.
Well there you have it with all its pathos and lack of realism. We’ve heard it all before and we will hear it again and again. Pro-lifers can find some comfort in the fact that the pro-abortionists are on the defensive. The anti-life faction has been forced to reduce its defence of abortion to the level of soap opera. It is sad to see the talent of these actors put to such silly and shameful use.
