NBC Accused of Pushing Abortion Through 'Parenthood' Episode

NBC is being accused of engaging in some pro-abortion propaganda with its latest episode of Parenthood.

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The hourlong NBC drama that aired Tuesday night featured teenage girl Amy (Skyler Day) aborting her fetus at a pristine Planned Parenthood clinic while boyfriend Drew (Miles Heizer) sat nervously in a waiting room.

While liberal publications such as Salon.com and Huffington Post largely praised the episode for its bravery and realism in tackling a touchy subject during primetime, right-leaning outlets had a much different take.

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“Yet another very special episode where TV characters promote predictably liberal positions,” said Dan Gainor, who runs the Culture and Media Institute, which, like the better-known Parents Television Council, was founded by Brent Bozell.

In the episode, Amy wants the abortion, but Drew does not. He’s supportive, but she is emotionally separating herself from him, and the only help she wants from him is money to pay for the procedure.

“If I have this baby, my life is over,” Amy tells Drew.

“It doesn’t have to be over,” he responds. “We could start a life. I can go to college. I can get a job. There are plenty of people who can help us.”

Later, Drew tells a friend, “I don’t want to give it up, but I’m trying to respect how she feels.”

There are several destructive messages in the episode, from a conservative, pro-life perspective.

“We get another pro-abortion piece where even the young father, who wants to keep the baby, never refers to the child as anything other than ‘it.' The friendly, antiseptic Planned Parenthood office gets a co-starring role minus all the controversies that plague its baby-killing operation in real life," Gainor said.

“There’s no discussion of life, of faith or any of the true arguments not to take the innocent baby’s life,” he continued. “All in all, exactly how Hollywood has twisted every major national issue for decades.”

Other anti-abortion organizations also weighed in Thursday. Jill Stanek of LifeNews.com, for example, called it “ironic” that the Parenthood episode was titled “Small Victories” and criticized Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards for her positive tweets about the show. The organization's offshoot, Planned Parenthood Action, tweeted that the show was “refreshing,” a notion Stanek derided.

“Refreshing? I saw a lot of heartbreak. I saw a lot of crying,” she wrote.

"After the abortion, Drew realized it was all too big, too much for him. So he belatedly turned to his mom -- as is also often the 'refreshing' reality of abortion -- who was now left with trying to help pick up pieces of her son’s broken heart as well as the death of her own grandchild," wrote Stanek.

NBC declined comment.

Email: Paul.Bond@thr.com