High And Degrassi: The Next Class

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Abortion is a complex issue that has been the subject of contentious debate for decades. Abortion is defined as a procedure to end pregnancy through the termination of an embryo or fetus. Due to the controversy surrounding this topic, many television series often shy away from it. Fortunately, Degrassi has consistently addressed heavy topics youth can relate to, including teen pregnancy, and has been a source for entertainment and education for generations. Over three incarnations of Degrassi: Degrassi High, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and Degrassi: Next Class, it has depicted the complex issue of abortion in a reasonable, accurate, and educational way. It sheds light on the challenges of teen pregnancy to foster empathy and understanding, …show more content…

In Degrassi High, Erica's class has a debate on this issue, with many classmates being against it, which makes Erica more uncomfortable and guilty. Her own sister was saying it was murder in this debate; students were saying the baby has rights; several of them were anti-abortion, which shows the harsh opinions people have on this topic and little support for people making the decision to abort the baby. When Erica goes to the abortion clinic after the debate, she is greeted by protesters who are trying to block her from going, telling her to not go there and saying she would not have been born if the abortion building was there 16 years ago. This further shows the judgment and lack of support people who choose to have abortions get. In the Next Generation, Manny's best friend Emma is very unsupportive of her decision to have an abortion. Emma tells her she cannot do that. She tries to convince Manny to keep the baby, and when she doesn’t listen, she just leaves. The next day at school, she ignores Manny, not wanting to be associated with someone who is thinking about abortion. Manny is also too afraid to tell her mom she's pregnant because last time her cousin was in this situation, she ended up being sent to the Philippines. Her mom did not end up being mad, but knowing what happened to her cousin, she wasn't interested in testing her parents. She truly believed her parents would have a harsh opinion on this and chose not to support her. In Degrassi: Next Class, at the beginning of the abortion episode, Lola's friends are in the washroom with her while Lola takes the pregnancy test. When they think that Lola isn't listening, her friends talk about how embarrassing it would be and how they would die if this happened. This results in Lola lying to them about it being negative because she feels like her friends would not support her. Through the

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