Steph Herold

Light brown background with text about how medical dramas portray abortion providers, with three iPads that have images from three shows

Light brown background with text about how historical dramas portray abortion providers, with two iPads with stills from two shows

Light brown background with text about how comedies portray abortion providers, iPhones with three screen grabs of shows

A list of what we’d like to see more of in terms of onscreen representation of abortion provision

This is how we #celebrateabortionproviders at Abortion Onscreen - by sharing analysis of how tv has represented abortion provision across genres, and what we'd love to see more of on our shows. Sending love, strength, and appreciation to all abortion providers, from clinic staff to clinicians.

Seeking Abortion Care Across State Lines After the Dobbs Decision This qualitative study investigates the experiences of people traveling from states with abortion restrictions or bans after the US Supreme Court Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision t...

"Every day since the Dobbs decision, pregnant people have undergone financially, physically, and psychologically strenuous journeys for basic health care." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Restrictive abortion policy climate is associated with increased depression symptoms among women in the United States: Findings from a 25-year longitudinal study To examine associations between state-level abortion restrictiveness and depression among female participants in a large, US sample surveyed from 1990…

No kidding -- "Women in states with more abortion restrictions had more depression symptoms" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Opinion | The Bible Tells Us to Love Immigrants

“Those of us who follow the Bible as a moral guide can conclude that demonizing, mocking or dehumanizing immigrants — let alone violently pursuing them — is an abomination, a direct affront to a biblical vision of what a good and holy society ought to look like.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/o...

Sorry, got distracted by kids! Glad you found it. #parshachat

I was also struck by all the botanical references! I read a commentary by Rabbi Shai Held that that’s part of the argument for the Mishkan being a kind of portable Eden. #parshachat

Oh that’s the best, I love that. #parshachat

A1 I’m always struck by how much Hashem desires closeness — “let them build Me an ark that I may dwell among them.” Not near them or close to them - among them. #parshachat

Its Time For Mayor Mamdani To Live Up To His Campaign Promises On Transgender Youth With NYU Langone's shuttering of its transgender youth care program, New York City has significant tools in its toolbox to push back.

1. Mayor Mamdani promised to hold hospitals accountable that capitulate to Trump.

He promised funding to trans youth care in the city.

There are very real steps he can take right now to maintain care for trans youth after NYU Langone's capitulation.

It's time for Mamdani to uphold his promises.

A group of three people stand together, talking. One holds a cup, while another wears a beanie and gestures with a hand. The background features simple icons and a plain surface. The text below reads, "Putting Pregnancy, Abortion, and Care into Context on Screen" by Vicki Shabo and Steph Herold. The bottom reads "Better Life Lab."

Better Life Lab’s Re-Scripting Gender, Work, Family, and Care initiative breaks down what audiences are seeing and takeaways for storytellers to consider in how their characters in TV and film navigate reproductive health.

📺 https://go.newamerica.org/pregnancy-abortion-and-care-on-screen-5

Agree.

Pregnant women die at higher rates when states restrict abortion State abortion restrictions put in place during the last two decades have resulted in more women dying during or after childbirth, leading to about 16 additional deaths a year across the states that b...

“State abortion restrictions put in place during the last two decades have resulted in more women dying during or after childbirth, leading to about 16 additional deaths a year across the states that became more stringent, new research finds.”

www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

The pro life crowd real silent about all the children that have been detained.

Also tbh hers is the only plotline I care about this season! The rest is so boring. Real womp womp season.

I was also struck by this. I saw an interview with the actress, saying she didn’t want to do more intimate scenes. I respect that, and yet it still feels like a big missed opportunity.

The Anti-Zionism Exception - Tablet Magazine A court decision just carved Jews out of civil rights law

As a civil rights lawyer, I don’t think cases alleging discrimination against Jews or Israelis should be subjected to a special, narrow discrimination test that applies only to them.

I wrote about this problem here: www.tabletmag.com/sections/new...

can’t not hear and see:

Webinar with Jewish Labor Committee starting today at noon ET: Join JCPA CEO @amyspitalnick and labor attorney Joanne Goldstein for a conversation on defending democracy, strengthening unions, and pushing back against efforts to divide our communities.
Register: thejcpa-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Looking forward to watching this — catch it on @pbs.org

www.pbs.org/show/black-a...

#BlackandJewishAmerica

Tomorrow will mark a month since Cecil has seen her children. She is still detained in Louisiana and does not know what will happen to her.

We don't know exactly how Jessica feels after her abortion, but it's clear that Diana feels relief and a returned sense of control. Interesting to see shows use abortion as a way for characters to come to terms with and separate from abusive partners.

Too Much While high on ketamine, Jessica has a flashback to the arc of her relationship deterioration with her ex-boyfriend, Zev. In one memory, she is with Zev and her family cooking dinner, and he blends in ...

This reminds me of last year's abortion plotline on #TooMuch, where Jessica's abortion marks the end of her toxic relationship with Zev www.ansirh.org/research/abo...

Tell Me Lies Diana discovers that she's pregnant by her abusive on-again, off-again boyfriend Stephen. She decides to have an abortion, and Stephen is furious when he finds out because she didn't consult him in th...

First big abortion plotline of 2026 -- on #TellMeLies (spoiler alert) Diana has an abortion, freeing herself (she hopes) from the manipulative control of her ex, Stephen.

www.ansirh.org/research/abo...

Short report: Autistic adults’ recommendations on how to improve autistic portrayals in TV-series and movies TV-series and movies are important sources of knowledge about autism for the general public. Aims: This study’s purpose was to elicit autistic adults’…

Autistic adults recommend that movie and TV productions should leverage autistic peoples’ expertise in the development and enactment of autistic portrayals, and that these portrayals must represent the broad diversity of the autistic community www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Pros and Cons of Character Portrayals of Autism on TV and Film - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Portrayals of characters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or with autistic traits on film and in TV-series are increasing. Such portrayals may contribute in increasing awareness of the conditio...

These representations matter; portrayals of autstic people can be useful in educational settings to promote knowledge of autism, but can also increase stereotypes link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Hey look, I’m (not) on TV: autistic people reflect on autism portrayals in entertainment media Portrayals of autistic characters in entertainment are becoming increasingly common across a range of media platforms, including movies, television series and novels. No longer is the autistic char...

"What is missing... is the voices of autistic people: what do we think when we (don’t) see ourselves portrayed in entertainment media?" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Representation of autism in fictional media: A systematic review of media content and its impact on viewer knowledge and understanding of autism - Sandra C Jones, Chloe S Gordon, Simone Mizzi, 2023 Media depictions of autism have the potential to have either positive or detrimental impacts on the lives of autistic people. This systematic review aimed to ex...

Can't help tracking the conversation on #HeatedRivalry and how tv represents autistic people - here's what the research says, fwiw.

TV portrayals are often negative / inaccurate / stereotypical, with autistic characters having little agency

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!

The 5-year-old arrested by ICE In Minnesota is detained at Dilley. We reported on conditions there in the below article.

Parents said the food was contaminated with mold and worms & that children were so under so much stress that they were hitting their own faces & wetting themselves.

Putting Pregnancy, Abortion, and Care into Context on Screen TV and film viewers are eager to see more realistic, authentic depictions of reproductive health decisions on screen.

We also include data showing that TV and film viewers in the U.S. across all genres of viewers support legal access to abortion care. There is no excuse not to have more abortion storylines onscreen -- audiences want to see them!

www.newamerica.org/better-life-...