Battlestar Galactica Finesses Abortion
How could it be possible that the marquee Sci-Fi Channel show Battlestar Galactica was able to create an episode which used abortion served as a major plot point, took no discernible position on the issue, and still made for an excellent show? I'm impressed, I truly am.
How did they do it? Well, the good guy, President Laura Roslin was adamantly pro-choice, but was convinced by bad guy (or at least morally ambiguous guy) Vice President Gaius Baltar to ban abortion in the fleet. She agonized over it, but decided it was necessary to save the human race. But during her announcement, her VP betrayed her and denounced her position, invoking the language of freedom. Language that the President personally agreed with. She then turns and pardons (or grants asylum to, or something) a young woman who was trying to sneak onto Battlestar Galactica to have an abortion in defiance of her parents' wishes.
So, the good guy is pro-choice, but feels compelled to govern pro-life. The bad guy plays both sides of the issue. And there were lots of other twists too, including the fact that Commander Adama, another good guy, was also trying to convince Rosyln to ban abortion, as well as a religious leader from the fleet who ended up not coming across well.
The show was full of the agonized decision-making and hard choices that go along with abortion. And it managed to portray both pro-choice and pro-life people in both good and bad lights. Not an easy thing to do when writing compelling drama without spiralling into triteness. And the Battlestar Galactica folks pulled it off, I thought. Bravo!
Disclaimer: I say this as someone who is pro-choice and a fan of Battlestar Galactica. I pretty much agree with Positive Liberty writer Timothy Sandefur that Roslin was wrong to ban abortion in the fleet. But I still think the show was brilliant.
How did they do it? Well, the good guy, President Laura Roslin was adamantly pro-choice, but was convinced by bad guy (or at least morally ambiguous guy) Vice President Gaius Baltar to ban abortion in the fleet. She agonized over it, but decided it was necessary to save the human race. But during her announcement, her VP betrayed her and denounced her position, invoking the language of freedom. Language that the President personally agreed with. She then turns and pardons (or grants asylum to, or something) a young woman who was trying to sneak onto Battlestar Galactica to have an abortion in defiance of her parents' wishes.
So, the good guy is pro-choice, but feels compelled to govern pro-life. The bad guy plays both sides of the issue. And there were lots of other twists too, including the fact that Commander Adama, another good guy, was also trying to convince Rosyln to ban abortion, as well as a religious leader from the fleet who ended up not coming across well.
The show was full of the agonized decision-making and hard choices that go along with abortion. And it managed to portray both pro-choice and pro-life people in both good and bad lights. Not an easy thing to do when writing compelling drama without spiralling into triteness. And the Battlestar Galactica folks pulled it off, I thought. Bravo!
Disclaimer: I say this as someone who is pro-choice and a fan of Battlestar Galactica. I pretty much agree with Positive Liberty writer Timothy Sandefur that Roslin was wrong to ban abortion in the fleet. But I still think the show was brilliant.
posted by Abram | 1:10 AM
1 Comments:
I know this is really late but I just saw it on Netflix. Practically, with calculations that the human race will be extinct in 18 years abortiion would have to be outlawed or you would have to give heavy incentives and advantages to women who have children.
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