“Scandal” Actors and Producer Defend Playing “Silent Night” as Character Aborts Her Baby

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Nov 23, 2015   |   5:29PM   |   Washington, DC

ABC’s “Scandal” has everyone talking about the brash, pro-abortion messaging of its latest show.

The Nov. 19 episode took on Congressional efforts to de-fund Planned Parenthood and glorified main character Olivia Pope’s abortion to the tune of “Silent Night.”

The episode was a sickening hour-long “advertisement for Planned Parenthood,” Alexa Moutevelis wrote for Newsbusters.

“Between the execution of a man that opens the graphic clip below, the talk of ‘soft tissue,’ saying family destroys you, watching a doctor take his instruments between Olivia’s legs, and the hint of a smile on her lips at the end, it is a truly vile scene, stomach churning scene,” Moutevelis wrote.

The show followed character Mellie Grant, played by Bellamy Young, a Republican Senator, who decided to filibuster a bill that would de-fund Planned Parenthood; and she succeeded. Later in the episode, Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, is shown aborting her unborn baby at Planned Parenthood as the song “Silent Night” plays in the background.

Tony Goldwyn, who played Fitz, the father of Pope’s aborted baby, told Pulse that he was shocked but “impressed by the boldness” of the episode. Goldwyn’s character did not find out about the abortion until afterward, and the actor admitted that the situation was troubling.

“I think it would be, next to the death of his son, the most gutting news he could get and frankly I don’t know how he’d recover from that,” Goldwyn said. “At the end of the day, it’s her body and her right, but it’s his child.”

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Fellow “Scandal” stars Kerry Washington, Bellamy Young, Katie Lowes and Darby Stanchfield all praised the episode or the abortion business Planned Parenthood after the show aired, The Daily Mail reports.

Washington tweeted #IstandWithMellie and #IstandWithPlannedParenthood, while Young tweeted that she was “so proud to speak on ur behalf 2nd @PP & for all women who deserve access to basic health care. TY for all you do. #PlannedParenthood”

Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards also praise the way the show had a character filibuster Congress’s efforts to de-fund the abortion giant.

“We just hope those in Congress — and throughout the nation — who are steadfast on rolling the clock back on reproductive health care access are taking note” of the show, Planned Parenthood said in a statement after the show.

TV producer Norman Lear weighed in on the episode recently, telling Variety that the show was “so well done.”

Lear, who created the 1970s TV show “Maude,” which featured the main character having an abortion, said America has changed since his TV show aired:

“And then they laid down in front of Mr. Paley’s car in New York,” he said, referring to William S. Paley, the founder of CBS. “They laid down in front of my car in L.A., because they were ready. They knew it was coming.”

When an effort was launched to sell the show into syndication, some stations balked. But Lear asked Betty Ford, who called herself “Maude’s Number One Fan,” to attend a party to woo station executives. She did, and the show began selling much better.

“For me, the question of abortion was proved when we did that episode,” Lear said. “Before the religious right had a chance to organize a protest or complaint, America swallowed it. It was not that big of a deal. It was nothing they didn’t hear about or talk about. Or you didn’t learn in any neighborhood in America.”

But, one pro-life writer noted, if nothing else, the show portrayed Planned Parenthood for what it really is – an abortion business.

“They did show that Planned Parenthood exists to provide really only one thing at the end of the day in practice – abortion on-demand,” wrote conservative author Nancy French on Patheos. “Olivia Pope sought an abortion not because of tough life circumstances or because she was the victim of an assault, but seemingly because the baby would get in the way of the life she wanted.”

ACTION: Click here to tell ABC to stop promoting abortion.

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