MEDIA CASE STUDY: GREY’S ANATOMY SAHANA NARAYAN
If you’ve ever watched Grey’s Anatomy, you likely remember the very first time we meet Addison Montgomery on screen. At the tail end of the first season, just as the audience is mooning over the dreaminess of McDreamy, she introduces herself to Meredith Grey, fur coat and retro hollywood curls and all — “you must be the woman who is screwing my husband.”
Miranda Bailey, embark on a journey to a rural part of Washington (Pullman, WA) to help out at a family planning clinic. This day takes a turn for the worse, though, when they must drive to the Washington-Idaho border where an Idaho woman with an ectopic pregnancy located on a prior cesarean section scar is at risk for rupture and cannot receive an evacuation procedure in Idaho.
Grey’s Anatomy has been running for 19 seasons and I’ve watched every episode. I’m loyal to a fault when it comes to this show, even when certain seasons have been subpar, and so believe me when I say, Addison has become a personal favorite.
According to a recent JAMA study, the travel time for an abortion has more than tripled, and with bans having been enacted, clinics are shutting down. The issue of abortion has taken on a moral and religious valence that quite frankly has no place in medical care. Even in this episode of Grey’s Anatomy, after arriving at the Pullman clinic, Addison and Miranda walk through a throng of aggressive protestors outside the clinic. It’s a realistic representation of what Anti-Abortion protests look like. There’s vitriol and anger that seems entirely at odds with a “pro-life” stance. Just like every campaign has some sort of strategy, these protestors do too. In fact, recent research suggests many AntiAbortion groups are pivoting to “Blue State” clinics, in response to abortion bans shutting down the clinics that they frequent. The difference in the Pre and Post-Dobbs time that it takes to get to an
In Season 19, viewers are given an entirely new version of the show, one that capitalizes on fresh storylines and a new cast; it’s novel and nostalgic at the same time. Episode 5, “When I Get To The Border,” aired on November 3, 2022 and this episode does a great job integrating the very real fallout from Roe v. Wade being overturned. We know that many states have trigger laws that were ready to be enacted and others have lawmakers on the way to implementing some form of one. As an OB/GYN and maternal-fetal specialist, Addison Montgomery, alongside character 36 | 11 SECONDS MAGAZINE
