Yep, I know when it comes to comedy sitcoms, nothing screams belly laughs like abortion, but in November 1972, Norman Lear and the writers behind the hit TV show Maude managed to accomplish just that with perhaps the most controversial episode of a program to ever air on network television. In this two-parter, which was titled "Maude's Dilemma," the show's liberal minded heroine finds herself pregnant at the age of 47. Middle aged Maude is devastated, and after her adult daughter Carol suggests that she doesn't have to have the baby, Maude and her husband Walter do some soul searching for the right decision.
The episode is especially poignant for me because my own mother found out she was pregnant with me in 1971 when she was 41 (she was 42 when I was born.) I was the result of a low-dose birth control pill that was failing at the time, resulting in several pregnant women in their 40s who, like my mom, thought their baby making days were over. Thankfully, my mother never considered abortion, but I've often wondered if Maude's producers got the idea for the storyline from a real life scenario.
The episode aired a couple of months before the Roe vs. Wade decision was handed down, making abortion legal in the U.S. As you can imagine, it attracted a firestorm of protests and letters from pro-life and Catholic groups. Lear supposedly received photos of dead fetuses. A few CBS affiliates refused to air the episodes, and some advertisers dropped their media buys. It got even worse when CBS decided to rerun them as repeats in the summer of 1973. They received over 17,000 letters of protest (compared to 7,000 before the original airing.)
Watching "Maude's Dilemma" online recently, two things struck me. First, that Maude carefully debates her decision, and the pros and cons of each outcome ("At age 62, I'll be the mother of an Eagle Scout!") In my opinion, the episode was neither pro-life nor pro-choice. Today, if such a scenario dared to be written for prime time, it would be strongly for or against abortion, with no middle ground.
Secondly, in typical Maude style, even though it deals with a serious topic, the episode is pretty funny. This was the first time fellow future Golden Girl Rue McClanahan made an appearance as Maude's friend Vivian, and the banter between the two definitely set the stage for the 1980s hit. When Maude breaks the news to Vivian, she doesn't believe her at first, and the look on her face in priceless. "You're pulling my leg. Maude. Maude? Please pull my leg?" She then tells Maude's daughter Carol, "You know how when you always wanted a little brother or sister? Well, your mother is about to make that wish come true for you!"
Actually, if there is any argument for pro-choice in this episode, it comes from Carol. "You're still thinking that abortion is a dirty word," she tells her mother. "It's not anymore." In a remarkable did-she-just-say-that moment, she also insists that the procedure is "as simple as going to the dentist" to which her mother replies, "NOW I'm scared."
Maude's husband Walter is a little shell shocked at first, but supports Maude and tells her that whatever she decides to do, he'll be happy with. He even offers to get a vasectomy to prevent it from happening again. At first Maude warms up to the idea of becoming a middle aged mother but in the end, confesses to Walter that they cannot become parents at their age, and decides to have the pregnancy terminated.
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