Last year, Hulu’s Shrill shocked voters with its main character, Annie (Aidy Bryant), abusing emergency contraception and ultimately getting an abortion--on screen. The abortion was then normalized in the worst way, with Annie declaring she felt “really, really good” and “very fucking powerful” afterwards. Then again, when the show is made by abortion activists, including the woman behind “shout your abortion,” it’s sadly not so surprising.
When the second season premiered on January 24, it seemed that the show had forgotten the abortion, even though abortion regret can remain with women. Annie and her boyfriend, Ryan (Luka Jones), were in a more committed relationship and even began using reliable birth control, as demonstrated by Ryan holding a used condom on screen.
But towards the end of the season, Annie attends the Women Are Having a Moment (WAHAM) Conference and the abortion comes up. She’s disappointed and disillusioned by the “demented” conference. When her boss, Gabe (John Cameron Mitchell), asks her about self-care, her abortion resurfaces. There’s even a door left open to Annie bringing up her abortion in her writing career:
Annie: And all day, all they talked about was self-care but it's not taking care of yourself to agree that you're ugly and need to be fixed.
Gabe: Okay. Okay, so what is a moment of true self-care if you strip everything away here? What’s an example?
Annie: Well, I mean, if I’m being honest, like the first thing that I think of is my abortion, you know? I mean, that was care. I had to in the moment evaluate what I wanted, and take care of myself, and then all the women that were there that took care of me.
Gabe: Well, thanks for telling me. I mean, this is totally your call, but you could, you know, put that in the article.
Annie: Yeah, I mean I’m--I’m not afraid to, it’s just the truth.
Gabe: Well, then go do it.
Annie: Okay, great. Yeah. Thanks, Gabe, I actually feel like we really, like, worked it out together in a nice way--
Gabe: Yeah, let’s not stretch this out.
Annie: Yeah, totally.
Gabe: Really ruin it.
Annie: Okay, well, um, thank you so much. And um, this--really awesome. Really, really, really great.
The abortion movement loves to preach about how abortion is “self-care,” hence the movement of “shout your abortion.” Annie also highlights how abortion is about what one person wants, while ignoring the wants of the innocent unborn child involved. And the abortion industry hardly helps women, rather it profits off of them and their vulnerability.
For all of Annie’s talk about the conference being “demented,” one could apply her take to the abortion industry. It’s not “self-care” to be convinced that you need to abort your child in order to be successful. Abortion is what makes women think that they’re “ugly,” that they “need to be fixed” because of pregnancy, when in reality, choosing life and to parent or place the baby for adoption is what’s empowering and caring about all involved.
Abortion is not only regarded as “self-care” in Shrill, but as something to be “so proud of,” when Annie reveals her abortion to her mom, Vera (Julia Sweeney), in another episode.
Annie: Well, I--I also have something to tell you. I, uh, I had an abortion.
Vera: Oh, honey.
Annie: But it’s good, actually. Like, it was the right thing, you know? And I--I really--I feel good about it.
Vera: I’m so proud of you. Oh, my God. You know, you could’ve talked to me about it. I really would’ve understood.
Annie: No, I do know that. I think I just… needed to do it myself. But I know that.
Vera: Aw, honey. Oh, honey. Oh.
Even if Vera supports her daughter’s choice, which is to end the life of Vera’s unborn grandchild, it’s not something to be “so proud of.” Shrill continues to be crude in every way, with no relief in sight as it continues to propagate abortion.
