Planned Parenthood is calling out “Black Mirror” for its depiction of the morning-after pill
The recently released fourth season of Black Mirror has made many steps in the right direction. All six episodes feature female leads, and diversity is front and center. But Black Mirror is receiving heat from Planned Parenthood over its depiction of the morning-after pill in “Arkangel” — and rightfully so.
Now, if you haven’t watched the episode yet, consider this your spoiler warning!
The episode in question, directed by Jodie Foster, centers on Marie (Rosemarie DeWitt), a mother who has a tracker of sorts, called Arkangel, inserted into her daughter, Sara (Brenna Harding), after nearly losing track of her at the park when she was just a toddler. And the device does much more than show Sara’s whereabouts: It also has a filter that prevents Sara from seeing stressful and violent imagery when turned on; it allows Marie to literally see what Sara sees; and, last but not least, it keeps tabs on Sara’s medical health.
Eventually, Marie stops using the device so Sara can lead a more normal life. But when Sara, now a teen, isn’t where she says she is, Marie turns to Arkangel once again and discovers that Sara is having sex with Trick (Owen Teague) — and later, that Sara is pregnant. Marie later sneaks an emergency contraception pill into Sara’s morning smoothie, effectively terminating the pregnancy. And Sara only finds out when she passes out at school, and the nurse informs her.
And this is where the show runs into problems — and where Planned Parenthood steps in.
Black Mirror gets the details of the morning-after pill seriously wrong.
"Pregnancy doesn't happen right after you have sex," said Elizabeth Clark, Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Director of Health Media, as Daily Beast reports.
“Sperm can actually live inside somebody’s body for up to six days after sex, waiting for an egg to show up to be fertilized. The morning-after pill works by temporarily stopping ovulation so the ovary doesn’t release an egg.”
Which is to say, the morning-after pill is *not* an abortion pill, as “Arkangel” suggests. Emergency contraception is most effective the sooner it’s taken, and it’s ineffective once a woman becomes pregnant.
Twitter called the mistake out, too.
Hi @blackmirror, @netflix, and anyone else confused:
EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION IS NOT THE SAME AS THE ABORTION PILL. THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT MEDICINES THAT DO DIFFERENT THINGS. CONFLATING THEM IS DANGEROUS AND IRRESPONSIBLE.
— Lauren Rankin (@laurenarankin) December 30, 2017
I watched @blackmirror and I'm PISSED that they equated Emergency Contraception to an abortion pill. EC prevents pregnancy. It does NOT terminate pregnancy. This is so damn irresponsible.
— Charlene A. Carruthers (@CharleneCac) December 30, 2017
I finally watched the @blackmirror episode Arkangel, and I really wish Jodie Foster and @netflix had actually done some research on abortion pills and emergency contraception. It was wildly inaccurate, from how EC works to the symptoms.
— Renee Bracey Sherman (@RBraceySherman) January 3, 2018
Is @blackmirror going to address the issue many of us have been raising about the erroneous conflation of emergency contraception & medication abortion in Arkangel? Please do something to help correct this misperception. cc: @laurenarankin @morninggloria @CharleneCac
— Chelsea Polis (@cbpolis) December 31, 2017
Hey @charltonbrooker, in Arkangel you refer to “emergency contraception” terminating a pregnancy. This conflates contraception and abortion, and is a dangerous falsity to spread to the world. Black Mirror is brilliant, but you aren’t exempt from your responsibility to fact check.
— ruth (@ruth_walshe) January 2, 2018
Yes, this is Black Mirror, where there’s technology and medical advancements unlike anything we’ve seen before. But, as The Daily Beast points out, it’s dangerous to conflate emergency contraception and “the abortion pill” because that reinforces misconceptions. It’s irresponsible, and the last thing we all need is misinformation regarding women’s sexual health. Let’s please do better, Black Mirror.
