Grey's Anatomy Shows an Abortion Step by Step as Grey Sloan Memorial Gets a New Chief
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This post contains spoilers from Thursday's episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Grey's Anatomy tackled this issue of abortion head-on during Thursday's episode.
Dr. Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane) treated a pregnant mother of two named Sierra who had come to the hospital after noticing she'd been spotting for several days. When she learned that she was okay and the baby was healthy, she was devastated: Though she felt guilty about it, she'd felt relief at the possiblity of a miscarriage.
Sierra eventually admitted that she felt "dark... exhausted and defeated" and struggled with post-partum depression after her past pregnancies. She feared that history repeating itself and ultimately requested an abortion from the clinic at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
"I love my kids. I want to stay alive for them… I can't do this again," she told Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), who came to advise about the abortion.
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The doctors then took the patient step-by-step through the abortion as her husband stayed on the phone. They explained when she might feel pain and comforted her throughout the process.
They also guided her through the aftercare for the procedure, advising her that she may "experience cramping and spotting over the next few days."
After the procedure, Jo complimented Jules for the way she "stayed and listened" to the patient.
Viewers had mixed reactions on social media to how the abortion was depicted.
"Wow. 'Grey's Anatomy' just showed a mother of two have an abortion in real time," one user shared on Twitter. "She chose it when bc failed as she'd had severe post-partum depression with her previous births. She feared she'd commit suicide. She was prioritizing her kids. This is why abortion is healthcare."
Another person tweeted, "I don't know how medically accurate that depiction of an abortion was, but to show that onscreen at all is just... so important."
Other's criticized the show's choice to represent an abortion at all: "No matter your opinion, they shouldn't be showing an abortion on tv!"
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Also on Thursday's episode, Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) was still unsure if she wanted to accept his offer for chief of surgery after Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) left for Boston on last week's episode. Her husband Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) encouraged to take the job because it would allow him to become chief of trauma again.
However, Bailey advised her to "ask for the moon, planets and Pluto" when negotiating for the job because they need her more than she needs them. She immediately went back to Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) with a list of demands but he declined, saying he would take the job himself as a negotiating tactic.
Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) also threw her hat in the ring for the job; however, Webber ultimately gave the job to Teddy and agreed to her demands. After the fact, Amelia told Teddy she only did it to push Webber toward accepting Teddy's terms because she, in fact, didn't "want to be chief."
Liliane Lathan/abc
Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd), Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) and Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis) also settled into Meredith's former home after she moved to Boston on last week's episode.
Lucas and Mika competed for the best bedroom while treating a patient who was having severe stomach pain after completing an eating challenge. Mika was so desperate for the bedroom that she agreed to do an enema on the patient.
Jo reassured Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln (Chris Carmack) when he was nervous about performing surgery on a Seattle Seahawks player.
Liliane Lathan/abc
Once the professional athlete — nicknamed "The Tank" — arrived at the hospital, he quickly became the most popular patient in the hospital where he was getting a surgery called "The Bear" or anterior cruciate ligament repair.
Even Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) couldn't keep her cool and she told The Tank that her husband would be "jealous and smug" about her meeting the athlete.
However, The Tank was more concerned about his future in football since he'd left home to play at age 11. He told Simone that the surgery was his chance to reunite his family but worried about what would happen if the surgery didn't work and he couldn't "play ball again."
Right before the surgery, Jo assured Link that he was able to handle the surgery, saying, "You've never folded before. You are not going to start now."
Shortly after completing the successful surgery, The Tank had complications from a clot and Link was forced to perform CPR on him but he did not survive.
Raymond Liu/abc
Simone was tasked with telling The Tank's mother about his death and asked Blue to help her. After returning home, she received a surprise visitor, her ex-fiancé Trey, who brought flowers and snacks. Lucas was less than thrilled as he and Simone had just started hooking up.
After word of The Tank's death got out, the press accused Link of killing him. Amid the chaos, Link leaned on Jo but she refused his kiss because he was "drunk and sad."
Raymond Liu/abc
Tensions were still high between Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) and Dr. Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) but she told Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) that they instituted a temporary "cease-fire" in the form of supremely awkward silences.
Maggie refused to ask for help from her husband when she had questions about the report for the first-ever partial heart transplant — which she performed on last week's episode — but she insisted, "I need a win. I need victory because I feel like I'm failing at my marriage."
After The Tank's death, he accused Maggie of burying herself in work to avoid her feelings.
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Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
