Grey's Anatomy (Things You Can Disagree On and Things You Can't)

I love Grey's Anatomy. I always have. The only slightly iffy time for me was when Izzy was having ghost sex with dead Denny (it turned out to be a hallucination caused by cancer). As long as it wasn't going all supernatural (it actually does do that a bit sometimes as with Meredith when she briefly stopped breathing and saw Denny in the afterlife - another hallucination or something else?). Anyway, while I'm not too keen on any ideas of heaven, GA creator, Shonda Rhimes often puts in little bits of religion. I don't know what she believes in (and it doesn't matter really) but the whenever the show has a religious character who's a regular they're always much more bothered about their own God than the ideas of any one institution. (Guest characters who are religious in a judgemental way are not dealt with kindly.)

In fact in a recent episode when Callie and Arizona were getting married, Dr Bailey suggested that God was much more progressive than any of churches that spoke on his behalf; it was just a question of people catching up to God. I don't believe in God and am not a fan of religion (to say the very least) but the idea of a being I don't believe in being happy for two women to get marry is preferable to me to the idea that a being I don't believe in will send them (and me) to hell.

So it's a very liberal show especially for American network television. In the recent finale (season 7) Cristina Yang (played by Sandra Oh) discovered she was pregnant. This wasn't the first time. In the very beginning of the show she became pregnant after sleeping with Burke (who left the show when the actor was fired for being homophobic). She knew that she didn't want the baby and scheduled an abortion. Before she had it though, it was discovered it was an eptopic pregnancy (where the baby grows outside the womb) so the pregnancy was not viable.

In seven years Cristina has changed in many ways but she still doesn't want a baby. She's married to Owen who does want a baby. A few episodes ago they talked about their feelings and could not agree. Now, I'm not saying you have to agree on everything before you marry someone (or commit to them forever in some other way) but you do have to agree on the big stuff. As Cristina points out you can't compromise; "you can't have half a baby".

Owen tries to tell her what a great mother she'll be then tries to convince her she won't have to be too involved with the baby or give up her career. She says "I'm not a monster. If I have a baby I'll love it." Which is brilliant to hear. So many people think that if you don't want to raise a child you must hate them or doubt your ability.

Owen acts as if Cristina is being unresonable for not changing her mind. The truth is they should never have got married. Not until they'd got this stuff sorted. (In fairness they had a somewhat rushed wedding following a crazed gunman attacking the hospital.) It's just too important. I honestly do feel bad for Owen but mostly I just feel angry with him for failing to realise that Cristina not changing her mind is the same as his point-blank refusal to change his mind.

So what will happen at the beginning of season eight? The finale ended with Owen chucking Cristina out of her home as she'd made an appointment to have the fetus terminated so I can't really see much a future for them. I just hope that she does go through with the abortion; so that people might come to understand that it's not something where you just change your mind (perhaps it is for some people but surely they've been more than represented on TV all ready most notably Miranda on Sex and The City).

I watch a lot of TV and the only actual abortions I've encountered have occured in Six Feet Under and The L Word. (While Miranda chooses not to have an abortion in SATC it is revealed that Sam and Carrie have both had them in the past.) In Dawson's Creek Pacey's sister Gretchen either had an abortion or miscarried but she won't tell Dawson which (this occurs when Dawson's mother, Gayle gets pregnant and considers her options, ulitmately she keeps the baby).

Apparently (I have learned from googling) somebody had an abortion on Friday Night Lights which goes out on NBC. However, that was a young girl (ditto Claire in Six Feet Under). Is Grey's Anatomy finally going to show an adult married woman making that choice?

In America approximately 3,700 abortions are carried out every day and 48% of these women are over 25. There are many reasons women may choose to have an abortion but some of them must just not want to be mothers. It will be interesting to see what happens with Cristina.

R hates Grey's; he hates Private Practice (the spin off) even more but while we may disagree the merits of medical dramas we've agreed not to get married or to have children.