Degrassi: The Next Generation (The N)
WHAT HAPPENED By now you're familiar with the ''Omigod! I'm, like, totally pregnant!'' template of most teen shows. You know, the episode where the panicked girl realizes she's ''late,'' ticks off her options, and then discovers — whew! — it's just a false alarm. Not so on Canadian import Degrassi: During a two-episode arc called ''Accidents Will Happen'' in season 3, 15-year-old Manny (Cassie Steele) confirms that yes, she's pregnant, and decides pretty much immediately that yep, she's getting the abortion. It's not the first time a TV character has terminated a pregnancy — Bea Arthur's Maude did it in 1972 — but the age of the Degrassi characters and the show's target audience made it especially hot-button.
PUBLIC REACTION None at first — because The N originally declined to air the storyline in the States. Fans protested that decision on message boards and with online petitions, and two years later ''Accidents Will Happen'' was finally shown during a Degrassi marathon. — Dawnie Walton
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