Buffy the Vampire Slayer is getting an abortion
I think strongly that teen pregnancy and young people having babies when they are not emotionally, financially, or otherwise equipped to take care of them, is kind of glorified in our media right now….
I don’t think Buffy should have a baby. I don’t think Buffy can take care of a baby. I agree with Buffy. It’s a very difficult decision for her, but she made a decision that so many people make and it’s such a hot button issue with Planned Parenthood under constant threat and attack right now.
A woman’s right to choose is under attack as much as it’s ever been, and that’s a terrible and dangerous thing for this country….
~ Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book creator Joss Whedon on his decision to create a storyline with Buffy getting an abortion, Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life, February 8
[Graphic via Bleeding Cool]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Joss Whedon’s world view is shaped by being raised by a bitter mother with little fatherly influence. He is a proud athiest who said he does not believe in a “sky bully”.
i was at the doctor yesterday and while in the waiting room i picked up a magazine with Sarah M Geller on the front. Is she the vampire slayer? either way i dont get it. first grays anatomy now buffy? i dont watch these shows at all. i especially now will never. @ eric…hi it reminds me of Bill Maher. strange cup of coffee that guy is. all that sky ghost yap. whateva
Heather,
Sarah M Geller was Buffy on the tv show, but as far as I know she has nothing to do with the comic book series. The problem with the Whedenverse (as we fans call it), is that he allows his own fears/biases to come through loud and clear. For a while this just meant none of his characters were able to have fulfilling/lasting relationships (one of his fears is unrequited love/not being able to be with the person you love), but I guess he’s gotten to the point where he no longer feels the need to separate his personal views from character development.
This is most disappointing – I’m a huge Buffy/Joss Whedon fan…haven’t read the comics as they got really, really strange and completely off-character for the television series.
I just can’t see Buffy getting an abortion…one time she accidentally killed a human and was mega upset – even though he was a “bad guy.” She only kills demons.
In fact, when she got a sister magically in the middle of a series who was not even her flesh and blood and not even fully human, she loved her and protected her with her life.
And when her friend Tara became mentally ill and completely unable to take care of herself – they took care of her and loved her just the same.
Now we can try to use the whole “fetus isn’t a human” argument - but even the pro-abort leaders have realized they can’t argue that one anymore.
…Joss is loosing it.
I agree Angela. I highly doubt SMG has anything to do with the comic. It doesn’t even look like her likeness in the above picture which I assume they’d need her permission to use. Whedon owns the Buffyverse and not the actors who played characters. Why can’t Buffy put her child up for adoption?
okay thanks guys. i always see SMG and think (kay thats the vampire slayer….pretty girl. anyway idk there was a cartoon cuz although i know a few buffy fans i was never one of them.
I am SO disappointed with this decision.
I loved the series and the character. It was smart and funny and Buffy was a proper heroine. She didn’t whinge or moan about what she had to do. She accepted the fact that there were times when she had to make personal sacrifices for the good of others and she did so willingly. She stood up for what she believed in, and she always defended humans against anything that threatened them.
To have her turn away from that and decide that an unborn life should be ended is much more than a political statement. In my view, it’s worse than that because JW, as the writer should be loath to do something so out-of-character. If he goes ahead with this story-line, the character of Buffy will lose all integrity – is this not something that he should be thinking about? For that reason, I’m surprised that he’s crossing such an artistic Rubicon.
As far as the politics go, well, if he is going to embroil Buffy (PLEASE DON’T DO IT!!!!!) in politics, shouldn’t she be doing what she does in every other situation – looking at both sides of the argument? So let’s see Buffy checking out the biology books to discover that life begins at conception. Let’s see her wrestling with the statistics that show how many women suffer negative consequences in the aftermath of abortion. Maybe she could read that March 2010 Economist report about the 100 million baby girls who are missing due to gendercide.
Far from deciding to have an abortion, she might just find that there are many more sinister doings afoot outside the walls of Sunnydale High.
I love when they say “a woman’s right to choose is under attack.” It is? I feel like I get to choose things every day. Today I chose what to have for breakfast. I chose what to wear for the day. I chose to sit down after breakfast and surf the web for a little bit. I chose what lipstick to wear and I chose what news station to watch. I have a lot more choices to make today. I don’t feel like my “right to choose” is under attack.
Maybe pro-aborts should stop being so ambiguous and clearly spell out what they mean by “choice”. A woman’s right to choose career, clothing, cars, vacations, food etc… not under attack. Say what you mean, pro-aborts. You mean a woman’s right to choose to kill the child growing in her womb is under attack.
I’d also like to point out – what does he consider “teens and young people” – Buffy was like 23 by the end of the 7 seasons of the show – not sure how old she is by now, but she’s certainly old enough and mature enough to take care of a baby – she took care of her sister all on her own and was a guidance counselor at the high school. She’s had crappy jobs and did whatever to take care of herself and her family. She’s gone out of her way to protect her loved ones and died – twice – to protect her loved ones and the world.
OUT OF CHARACTER for her to get an abortion.
Haha I know I am looking way too into this – but I’m a Buffy nerd and this is simply ticking me off :P
right sydney..and why do they think its under attack anyway? there will be 4000 abortions today. PP will be busy. speaking of vampires and all.
Wow, how disapointing. I’ve never read the comics, and I’m not a fan of the Buffy tv series. She was a ‘woe is me, my life is over because I can’t be prom queen and first cheerleader!’ character who had horrible judgement, friends with questionable loyalties and horrible judgement and a really self-centered and oblivious mom. But my husband and I are both big Wheden fans in genera. His politics are questionable, his religion even more so, but he’s an awesome writer who makes really come-alive characters. And his characters usually have a strong ‘protect the innocent’ streak which runs completely counter to abortion.n
I am not a fan of either the show or comics, never was, but when I think about his statement “A woman’s right to choose is under attack as much as it’s ever been, and that’s a terrible and dangerous thing for this country….” I have to admit that in my pro-life perspective this is also very true. We hear so many stories about girls being litterally forced to have abortions eventhough they don’t want them. And also many times when I read or heard pro-choicers speak out , it seems they are very pro-choice …as long as you make the choice of abortion…And this is a very dangerous thing…They are all for the freedom of choice / right to chose, but if a woman scheduled for abortion changes her mind, that is an attack on that right, PP and that’s when their respect for the woman that makes a different choice than that of practicing her right to have an abortion, STOPS. Their way of thinking is very twisted, to say the least…
I love how he tries to make the abortion issue all about how poor Planned Parenthood is under attack right now. As if we’re motivated by hatred for a company rather than saving lives.
I also love how almost every pro-choicer seems to think that calling abortion a “difficult decision” somehow justifies it.
I don’t think Buffy should have a baby. I don’t think Buffy can take care of a baby. Then Buffy should not be having sex, because sex makes babies. I guess vampire slayers don’t take many biology courses, huh?
I don’t think Buffy should have a baby. I don’t think Buffy can take care of a baby. I agree with Buffy.
Uh… hello? Did Joss Whedon write this storyline FOR Buffy? Because if he did, he can’t “agree with Buffy;” he has caused her character to make this decision.
It is interesting how in saying these things he reveals his disdain for the idea of a woman, who is apparently “mature enough” to have sex and kill vampires (and have sex with them on occasion, if I recall correctly) but can’t manage a pregnancy. Her character is a very strong, feminist character, so for him to say “Buffy can’t take care of a baby” just really demeans everything that is currently known about the character. It’s painting her as some helpless waif.
Weird, to say the least.
Well, on the plus side, most of the fandom has utterly dismissed “Season Eight” as relevant or, in many cases, happening. The storylines have been fairly schizophrenic up ’til now (Dawn is a giant? Dawn is a centaur? Buffy is suddenly bisexual? Whut?), so it makes sense that they’d continue to be bad.
JoAnna, lol, yeah, you’d think after Angel turned into a homicidal demonic sociopath when things got sexual Buffy would learn sex isn’t for ‘fun’.
LOL and let’s not forget the time and she and her boyfriend had so much sex they almost got killed by an out of control plant and everyone was trapped in rooms, etc. all kinds of stuff went down because of their sex life hahah
To think this man had a hand in the creation of Toy Story…
My view on Toy Story has changed. Toy Story promotes attachment to material things/toys. The main message is bad, and overly sentimental.
And here I thought one of the main qualifications for being a Slayer was being a virgin…
Odd, though.
Whedon talking about Buffy as though she were real is in fact rather common for authors, so I have no problem with it. What IS disturbing is that Joss makes it sound as though she is making this decision for political reasons.
Obviously it is his doing. But I am curious to see how the story arc reads.
As Sydney previously stated…
A “woman’s right to choose” is under attack????
Ummm..no..it’s children in the womb who are UNDER ATTACK right now. People act like they’ve never HEARD of adoption!
BTW..I think first there was “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” as a comic book character, then there was the MOVIE, with Kristy Swanson as Buffy, THEN there was the t.v. series with Sarah Michelle Gellar.
BOBBY! Long time no see! How have you been, hon’ ?
Not sure if it started with a comic – I thought it was the movie first. The tv show ran for 7 seasons then ended in 2003? It’s been a comic since not sure how often it comes out but it’s not AS popular as the show was – but there is a following.
WHY DID THEY LET THIS MAN TOUCH THE AVENGERS?!
Marvel! WHY?! Stan Lee! Where are you?! ;_;
Why can’t Buffy get married?
Vampire slayers can’t have families?
What’s up with that?
Or is she only attracted to/sleeps with guys whom she can’t marry?
Just askin’ I don’t follow the series.
@Kevin: No, the only qualification for being a Slayer is being a woman. Anyone born a girl could be a part of the “Slayer line.”
*might possibly be a bit of fan of the show…maybe*
Slayers can have a family – in fact Buffy’s boss in later seasons was the son of a slayer that Spike had killed back in the 70s.
Guess it’s just hard to be the slayer and raise a family when you’re in constant danger….BUT that woman was the ONLY slayer – whereas in the comic series EVERY slayer that would EVER be slayer (say, if Buffy died) is now a slayer from the start.
She’s NOT along and the fate of the world doesn’t rest on her shoulders.
She can take 9 months off of slaying to give birth and, if need be, give the baby up for adoption.
…haha here I go reading way too much into it again! hahah but it IS going to affect people.
Grrr…Arrrgh.
in fact Buffy’s boss in later seasons was the son of a slayer that Spike had killed back in the 70s.
Oh. Spike. He was the only reason I watched the handful of episodes I did. :D
Haha Kel, I’m Team Spike hardcore – Spike without a soul was somehow nicer and more loving than Angel WITH a soul…when Spike God a soul….*swoon*
Joss Whedon… ‘Firefly’ was awesome.
Kristy Swanson. Oh yesssss….
Sarah Michelle Gellar. Oh yesssss….
Why can’t Buffy get married?
Vampire slayers can’t have families?
I guess Slayers can’t place their babies for adoption, either.
My daughter got pregnant when she was sixteen.We decided not to kill our grandchild. Thank God!
*sigh* I’ve enjoyed some of Joss Whedon’s stuff (Buffy, Firefly, etc.), but he seems to be going a bit downhill. He’s made some very strange choices with the storyline and characterization in the Buffy comics. I hope he doesn’t ruin the Avengers.
I didn’t realize he was such flake, though. Probably should have; many people in Hollywood are pro-abortion.
I think strongly that teen pregnancy and young people having babies when they are not emotionally, financially, or otherwise equipped to take care of them, is kind of glorified in our media right now….
Perhaps, but that doesn’t justify the killing of innocent human beings.
This is why you don’t want to have sex if you’re not prepared to give birth to a child.
I don’t think Buffy should have a baby. I don’t think Buffy can take care of a baby.
If Buffy shouldn’t have a baby and can’t take care of a baby, then why on earth was she participating in an activity that could result in the conception of a *drum roll* baby?
As other posters have said, why can’t she put the baby up for adoption?
It’s a very difficult decision for her, but she made a decision that so many people make
That doesn’t make it right, sweetheart.
and it’s such a hot button issue with Planned Parenthood under constant threat and attack right now.
I’m loving the irony here.
A woman’s right to choose is under attack as much as it’s ever been, and that’s a terrible and dangerous thing for this country….
I like Sydney’s response to this ;)
“I don’t feel like my “right to choose” is under attack.” – of course you don’t. Nothing that you would choose is under threat.
He’s probably making bad story line choices because he’s drunk the cool-aide.
He’s trying to justify abortion and it’s not adding up but he keeps trying.
Pray for discernment.
Buffy the pre-born slayer? Crazy.
Just call her Buffy the Baby-Slayer, I guess.
Joss Whedon has sold out on abortion, so he’ll never show Buffy crying because she knows she killed her baby, collapsing inside with regret, or abusing drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. No, it’s all I’m-Liberated-By-My-Choice in happy skippy fiction land, and none of that stuff that REAL women go through.
I’ve never gotten into any of Joss Whedon’s works, and now I never will.
Well I WAS a Whedon fan….. but now….. That’s it. First he ticked me off by killing off everyone in Serenity, then by REFUSING to ever continue that series, now Buffy ignoring everything she ever did/said in the series (I’ve never read the stupid comics) so she could have an abortion.
This isn’t about “choice” this is him ticked off that Bella had her baby! He made Buffy the anti-Bella and is politicizing the whole thing by connecting it to PP. I bet you!
This just in! I just got a personal email (not allowed to publish it) from a source near Joss Whedon (not allowed to tell who) that quotes Joss in another email saying, “I’m just still ticked off about Bella having her baby and all these pro-lifers thinking that’s hot sh** so I’ll make Buffy the anti-Bella and have her get an abortion! But I don’t want people thinking that’s why so I’ll politicize it and say something about PP…”
:p
I hate to say this, but BTVS is kind of old news. It was a 90s and early 2000s thing, and, yes, it was great, but in 2012 it’s really not that relevant anymore. If Joss Whedon thinks he’s making a statement about teen pregnancy, he is wrong, because a) Only die hard buffy fans now in their 20s and early 30s read/give a crap about the comic books, so what Buffy does now isn’t impacting as many people, and b)Buffy isn’t a teenager. She was 20 in Season 5, when she died. Then she came back to life in season 6, still presumably at age 20, which would would make her 21-22 when Season 7 ended. This is the second season of comic books, so that would make her about 23 or 24, so her abortion has nothing to do with “teen pregnancy.”
I liked Buffy and Firefly a lot. He really did justice to the Serenity series with the Firefly movie (Everybody died? I thought it was only the pilot. Was there a Firefly II?). But come on! She’s strong enough to kick the butts of vampires and demons, but not to care for one of her own for at least a little while?
Whedon’s weakened his character, not “empowered” her. It’s bad enough when J.J. Abrams went a whole alternate universe route (“Yeah, let’s destroy a whole planet that’s vital to Star Trek’s storyline!”) Glad I never saw the comic book Buffy.
Don’t mess with the Avengers. Marvel was my childhood!
This may be the geekiest subject for a post yet. :)
Buffy the Son-or-Daughter Slayer
@Hans: Wash and Book died. Everyone else lived.
…Okay, yes, fine. I am a fandom junkie. You caught me. :P
Was there a Firefly II?
Sady, no, Hans.
And, actually, Angel already featured an abortion episode, at least in a metaphorical sense. Early in the show Cordelia became pregnant with a demonic fetus and had to go through a ritual to kill it. The pregnancy, being demonic, progressed very quickly, so the fetus was as developed as a sixth month-old human unborn baby when the ritual was performed. It was done to preserve her health and that of the other women who were impregnated by the demon, and in a subsequent episode she casually tells someone that she was once pregnant but didn’t go to term. So, this was essentially Joss Whedon portraying abortion as a vitally necessary procedure in a metaphorical way.
I am truly outgeeked. I mostly remember the actor’s names now, not most of the characters. :)
Alice & Hans:
It FELT like “everybody died”. :( Those were my fave characters and I thought they were particularly pivotal usually. Zoe, Kaylee, and Simon all just about die and River is dragged off by reavers :( He abused them way too much. I decided Joss was a jerk after watching that movie, now I know he is for a fact for what he’s doing to Buffy now.
Yeah they’re his characters and all, and not actual flesh and blood people, but I dunno, it’s just MEAN to the fans in my opinion. All in all it doesn’t matter, it all ash anyway, but it’s just a jerky thing to do to the fans. :(
Blake’s Seven (a British series shown on PBS) had a shocking ending. Not only did everyone die, but it was a senseless, didn’t-have-to-happen misunderstanding. :(
I think it’s absolutely the right decision for Buffy. She’s the slayer, for eff’s sake! She doesn’t have time for a personal life (look at the many times she’s tried and how awful everything turned out) and her “job” demands the utmost from her physically, emotionally and intellectually. Slayers don’t get maternity leave.
I think Buffy sacrificing motherhood (for the time being) is in the best interest of her character and the series.
Cheers!
Beth,
Why was Buffy having sex in the first place if motherhood wasn’t an option for her? And why should an innocent child die because she made poor choices?
Hans-
Rogue is MY GIRL. Also, I was in love with Nightcrawler when I was younger. *hearts*
Marvel is the only comic company for me. Their good guys aren’t too good, they aren’t too strong, and you don’t end up liking them more than the bad guys who inevitably get put away quite handily by their God-Mode opponents (which is DC’s problem, to me. I always liked Joker and Catwoman better than Batman :P )
I think Buffy sacrificing motherhood (for the time being) is in the best interest of her character
Yes, but how does the baby feel about it? They are undoubtedly torn apart by the decision, and that is what you refuse to let yourself see.
Thank goodness Buffy is just a made-up character.
Xalisae,
This is where I’d say that an embryo doesn’t have an opinion (obviously!) and that Buffy’s duty to slaying places her in a unique ethical situation. Should she continue the pregnancy if it meant forgoing slaying for 9 months? How many people would die as a result of that decision?
@Beth
Would it be ok for her to kill her aging grandmother?
JoAnna,
People can have sex without wanting children. It happens all the time. I know this is difficult for you guys to understand, but really, it does.
As for the “innocent child” comment, Buffy has obligations. How many innocent children will die if she doesn’t continue her duties as the slayer? Buffy made the right decision and I have nothing but respect for Joss!
Beth, why are you bringing intent into this? You’re talking subjective emotions, but I’m talking about pure objective biology. Please stick to science. It’s a biological fact that sex creates babies, regardless of the subjective emotional intent of the participants or what measures they take to thwart a woman’s reproductive system. As no form of contraception is 100% effective, Buffy shouldn’t be having sex at all if she doesn’t want to run the risk of conceiving a child.
How many innocent children will die if she doesn’t continue her duties as the slayer?
It’s never acceptable to do evil so that good may result. Buffy should have thought about the potential consequences of her actions prior to having sex. I’m curious, do you believe it’s acceptable to sacrifice a born child for the greater good as well? If not, why not?
Beth,
I don’t see how you can still pretend to be one of the good guys if you’re willing to definitely kill your own child for certain to MAYBE save some people who MIGHT end up in trouble but who could still prospectively get out of the bind on their own but who still might not even exist.
oh, and when I said “torn apart”, it was a joke. I meant LITERALLY, because that’s usually what happens when you’re being aborted. As far as what can be felt or not, that’s irrelevant, because a parent has an obligation to provide and care for their minor child. There is no extenuating circumstance that exists which makes a parent killing their minor child acceptable or something that should be legal.
‘And, actually, Angel already featured an abortion episode, at least in a metaphorical sense. Early in the show Cordelia became pregnant with a demonic fetus and had to go through a ritual to kill it. The pregnancy, being demonic, progressed very quickly, so the fetus was as developed as a sixth month-old human unborn baby when the ritual was performed. It was done to preserve her health and that of the other women who were impregnated by the demon, and in a subsequent episode she casually tells someone that she was once pregnant but didn’t go to term. So, this was essentially Joss Whedon portraying abortion as a vitally necessary procedure in a metaphorical way.’
Sounds like what Breaking Dawn could’ve been but thankfully wasn’t
And Beth, you’re forgetting that everyone who was ever going to be a slayer in the first place IS now. There’s a whole army of slayers out there! And Buffy wouldn’t be the first slayer to have a child anyway. And who says she’d have to be benched the whole 9 months either? Pregnancy is not a debilitating disease ok! Active healthy women, like say slayers who constantly train and work out, are physically capable and prepared to continue their “exercise routine” through out the nine months of pregnancy. There are special pads for martial artists to wear while pregnant during training too, and if not, I’m sure some can be made out of plotdevisium for the Buffyverse. Then during birth and post-partum the rest of the ARMY of Slayers can easily pick up the slack for a baby moon or two. This abortion is unnecessary and illogical and against Buffy canon, it is purely politically motivated as Joss himself admitted (not only in my secret email, but in the article quote).
Also, if your line of thinking made any sense at all to Buffy, she would have killed Willow to save the world, killed Dawn to save the world, Killed Angel to save the world, etc etc etc etc….. Buffy would not intentionally or knowingly sacrifice a single life, especially her friends’, to save THE WHOLE WORLD while the single responsible slayer, so why would killing her own baby to save possibly maybe threatened lives somewhere while an ARMY of slayers exists all over the world to save those potentially threatened lives, make any sense to her?!?!???
Buffy and Joss just lost a fan. If Joss is an a-hole in emails like one you said (but not in those words), then i hope to God he goes to H3ll. I’m PROLIFE and I’LL NEVER CHANGE IT. There is nothign wrong with the Prolife people except the hypocrites who pretend to be Prolife. I may be cursed by AntiLifer Witches, but i’ll fight that curse by refusing to change who i am. Hope Joss gets ripped off with a prolife Buffy and winds up like that Abortion-ocd loser who used to write for Days and that other Soap opera those Leftist looneys ruined! I boycott when i hear about an abortion. I can do it if i want to. Glad Sarah left Buffy and those lefties behind! WOMEN WHO ABORT GO TO H E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS!
From a 29 yr old Right To Lifer from New York