Abortion In Romance, Yay or Nay? – The 2012 Version
Sunday, March 18, 2012Posted in: Abortions in romance
Back in July 2009, DA Jane had a post asking whether or not abortion was acceptable for a heroine in romance.
As you can see, 70% of the voters said yes, it’s acceptable, and 30% said no, it wasn’t.
The whole question of abortions etc, has been a hot topic in America for the last couple of years, so I wonder if the result would change much now?
I feel exactly the same way as I did in 2009, if it’s handled carefully, then yes, why not?
I then asked myself whether I’d read a book where the heroine had an abortion, and honestly, I’m not sure. I guess once again, it depends on the book.
It was far easier for me to say yes to whether or not it’s acceptable, but somehow much harder to say whether I would actually pick up a book where the heroine had an abortion. The first question is almost asking me whether I’m pro-choice or not, and the second question seeks to determine whether I’d walk the talk.
I guess it’s similar to people saying they would like more “multi-cultural” books, but then just going back and reading the types of books that they always read, ya know, the ones featuring two white people on the front of the cover…
Anyway, how would you guys answer both questions now?
(By the way, never, Google ‘abortions’ using Google Images. Seriously, don’t do it. *vom*.)
Jane
March 18
2:15 pm
I would welcome it. Just any treatment. Like a painful decision because the fetus/baby in the womb was clearly compromised.
Karen Scott
March 18
2:31 pm
Jane, for me, the question would probably be how the author would handle the aftermath of the abortion. I imagine it would have to be a case of fast-forwarding the angst and heartache period. Maybe. Oh I don’t know. Conflicted.
Lori
March 18
4:38 pm
Abortion as birth control would piss me off. But a choice the heroine makes for good reason, I’d find acceptable.
But I’m with you Karen. Fast forward the angst, please.
Roslyn Holcomb
March 18
5:14 pm
I’ve only read one, and now thinking about it I don’t know that I’d consider it a romance. The Real Deal by Margaret Johnson Hodge, I think is the name. Anyway, it’s a love triangle and the heroine aborts the ex boyfriend’s baby. I thought it was well done at the time, but it’s been a while. I had other problems with the book, but I don’t recall the abortion being an issue.
willaful
March 18
7:59 pm
I actively seek out such books. The conservative attitude in romance publishing really offends me, because this is such an important issue in so many women’s lives.
Linda Hilton
March 18
10:45 pm
oh, willaful, yes, yes, and yes again. thank you.
ME2
March 18
11:42 pm
Going to have to say no seeing as there is NOTHING remotely romantic about an abortion. Seriously. WTF!
FD
March 18
11:45 pm
I’d actively buy for this as a plotline or even (preferably) a sidenote. Hell, even realistic consideration (not just, ‘oh, I could never do that, not for me’) in the face of the many, many unplanned pregnancies would be good. When it does occur, it tends to be the heroine angsting forever over having had to make such dreadful, traumatic decision or some such bullshit.
Terminations are glaring in their absence in romance to my mind; given that twice as many women (in the UK) will have an abortion at some point as will be raped, the fact that rape is so common and abortion so rare tells us something pretty unpleasant about priorities of the genre.
Linda Hilton
March 19
2:25 am
FD — I totally agree. I’m old enough to remember when even hinting at condoms or contraception or safe sex was the rare exception rather than the rule, but now that’s accepted and maybe even the norm. And since there are a variety of circumstances under which a woman would choose to terminate a pregnancy, why shouldn’t there be plotlines that could weave a romance around that theme?
willaful
March 19
4:04 am
This review sums up how I feel perfectly: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/review/redwood-bend-review-i
AztecLady
March 19
4:23 am
I don’t believe anyone is saying that abortions are romantic, ME2.
But why can’t a person who has chosen to have one (for medical reasons, as Jane suggested up thread, for example) cannot be the protagonist of a romance novel?
Or would it only be acceptable if it were for medical reasons?
The question I guess is whether an author could make a person who choose to have an abortion heroic enough to be the protagonist in a romance novel–and here things get even more dicey, because I imagine that for many people the whole thing would be whether or not the author successfully ‘redeemed’ such a person, while others would actually be offended by that (as FD seems to be) while for others such a decision would be inconceivable without much angst.
Edited to add: thank you so much for that link, willaful–the last paragraph nails the issue for me:
eggs
March 19
9:32 am
I think you could hang a fantastically emotional ‘lovers re-united’ romance on abortion.
Tim McGraw sings a song called Red Ragtop, which is basically the story of two teens who fall in love, get knocked up, decide to have an abortion, don’t regret it, date for one more year then the girl falls out of love with/leaves the boy for unspecified reasons. He hasn’t seen her since. He’s never stopped loving her.
Every time I hear this song I imagine it’s the first half of a romance. It’s just waiting for someone to write the second half. So I guess my answer is yes, I would read such a romance, with abortion as a pivotal plot point.
Anon 76
March 19
1:51 pm
I get your point, Aztec
“The question I guess is whether an author could make a person who choose to have an abortion heroic enough to be the protagonist in a romance novel–and here things get even more dicey, because I imagine that for many people the whole thing would be whether or not the author successfully ‘redeemed’ such a person, while others would actually be offended by that (as FD seems to be) while for others such a decision would be inconceivable without much angst.”
For me, I don’t and never have believed that a woman should be in medical peril to make such a decision. Even in romance. I’ve never felt she needs to “redeem” herself for such a decision.
And while the “trope” is tempting, the “white picket fence” version of happily ever after bothers me too. I love my angst and I don’t want June Cleaver style of happiness. The whole “and baby makes three” thing drives me nuts.
Las
March 19
3:31 pm
I rarely read contemporaries, so I haven’t come across any romances where a heroine had an abortion. I have read a few where the heroine thinks about having one but changes her mind, always with the tone of, “A real heroine is always willing to be a martyr.” So yes, I would love to read a romance that featured a heroine who had an abortion, with the caveat that the author is skilled enough to write it without being preachy. I hate being preached to even when I agree with the message.
AztecLady
March 19
5:55 pm
Anon76, I agree that a person doesn’t need to redeem him/herself in anyone’s eyes but his/her own (if at all) for decisions that affect his/her life so profoundly and long-lastingly (awkward construction, apologies).
But it seems that for most romance readers the only way a character succeeds as protagonist (even in a secondary-plotline) is if s/he is redeemed from her misdeeds. Here I’m specifically thinking of Marylou in Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooter books. Among many character flaws, it’s first implied then confirmed that she got pregnant by Sam to get him to marry her (let’s not go into the fact that most men in the oughts would have shrugged and said, “so?”). Many readers could not forgive Brockmann for giving Marylou a secondary romance of her own–they felt she had not paid enough for her deceit/malice/racism/homophobia/etc.
Extrapolating from that, I feel that most romance readers would be unable to accept a female protagonist who makes the decision to have an abortion and has no doubts/regrets/angst over it.
Personally, I would like to know that a female protagonist who had an abortion had sound reasons for it–not necessarily medical reasons, but logical, sound reasons nonetheless. I don’t believe an embryo is a person, but barring other issues, pregnancy’s sole purpose is to bring forth a living being, so terminating one should not be decided lightly. I would hate for it to be an afterthought, something the character never even thinks about, because I can’t conceive making such a decision without a lot of thought.
Margaret Johnson-Hodge - The Author
August 12
3:17 am
My book was never written as a romance novel. It’s not how I wrote it and never saw it as such. Unfortunately my publisher (St. Martin’s Press) placed me work in that category. The very first line reads: “The morning after is a b****.” Definitely not ‘romance.’
I have received a lot of negative reviews of my novel because of this. It wasn’t my intention to fool the readers. So I apologize on behalf of St. Martin’s Press.
willaful
August 13
4:18 am
I don’t think you’re very familiar with the romance genre… I can’t comment on the story, not having read it, but there’s certainly nothing out of place about that opening.