'Black Mirror' Draws Abortion Controversy; 'Arkangel' Episode Wrong About Emergency Contraception
Netflix's "Black Mirror" season 4 is drawing controversy about abortion and the use of emergency contraception. Viewers called out the show on social media for spreading a misconception.
The episode titled "Arkangel," which starred Rosemarie Dewitt under the direction of Jodie Foster, featured a mother who took helicopter parenting to the next level. Marie (Dewitt) had an Arkangel chip implanted on her child, Sara, when she was a toddler so she can keep watch over everything she sees, feels and do.
When Sara became a teenager, Marie saw her daughter having sex. The mom soon learned through the Arkangel app that Sara's vitals indicated she was pregnant, so Marie spiked her drink one morning with an emergency contraceptive (EC) pill.
Marie became unwell and the school nurse specifically told her that the EC she took caused her vomiting. Shocked and confused, the daughter realized what her mother did to her.
Viewers, including medical experts, posted on social media that the episode got it all wrong. They corrected Netflix, "Black Mirror" and the director for the misinformation on EC.
Emergency contraception pills, such as Plan B or Ella, aren't manufactured to use for aborting a fetus. It's for pregnancy prevention, which women take to delay ovulation.
It doesn't work the same as abortion pills, such as RU-486, that blocks progesterone receptors to terminate the pregnancy. Emergency contraception pills must also be ingested within five days after having unprotected sex. If a woman had sex more than five days ago, however, she will need to get a pregnancy test and not an EC. There are over-the-counter emergency contraception pills, while abortion pills always require a doctor's prescription.
Netflix or the creators of "Black Mirror" haven't responded to the abortion and emergency contraception issue as of press time.
