From real life to the big screen, women often face the fear that they can’t have a child and career. While we see that proven untrue by many female icons, the anti-feminist abortion lobby still tries to fearmonger women into thinking a child can kill their education or goals in the workforce so they’re better off killing their preborn child.
But hearing a heartbeat is a distinct moment that can change a lot for an expecting mom, and this special event happens early in pregnancy. Netflix, however, is an unassuming place to see this message.
Everyone is a little guilty of escaping daily life with an occasional Netflix binge. For me, the stories surrounding elite members of the Israeli Defense Force working through dangerous situations in a scripted series entitled “Fauda” is a favorite vice, but it’s the last place I expected to see a message about abortion.
Those watching this popular Netflix series know that over four seasons the show has brought in-depth story lines unfurling terrorism plots and the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. It doesn’t touch on many social issues that are highly debated in America.
“Fauda” also closely profiles about a half-dozen Israeli agents who are at the heart of the action and details their lives outside of their unorthodox nine to five jobs.
First premiering in 2015, the show has reached its fourth season with lots of attention paid to one leading lady. The character, Nurit, plays a unique role where she is the only woman on the tactical team that faces life-threatening operations. She’s cunning and swift as she oftentimes goes undercover in dangerous places – an inspiring character for many girls to look up to.
Peeking into life outside of work, fans watch Nurit beautifully grow in her personal life and marry another member of their unit. The two celebrate their wedding in season four and the following episodes quickly unveil a secret that Nurit can’t disguise.
Nurit confesses her pregnancy to one of her unit members after being shot in a risky mission, but keeps it hidden from her husband as her character promises she won’t be keeping the baby. Her injury lands her in the hospital where medical professionals tend to her all while the growing baby in her womb remains unknown to her concerned husband.
After ensuring Nurit’s good health, her husband returned to their unit’s duties leaving her and the preborn child at the hospital. While Nurit often promises her colleagues or nurses that she won’t be having the baby, that changes the moment she hears the heartbeat during an ultrasound.
But first, Nurit’s character had to experience intense dialogue with her own moral conscience and spouse who eventually finds out about the pregnancy she’d been hiding. He was explosively frustrated and expressive when learning she didn’t want to have their baby. After all, it is his child too.
During their fight, a teary-eyed Nurit exposes her truth by saying how she would have to give up her career and livelihood to become a mother, especially since both parents work in a dangerous field. Her fear and anger boils over at the thought of surrendering her career that she had worked long and hard for if she embraced the new title of mom.
This is a common problem faced by women all over the world.
In fact, PEW Research found in a 2013 survey that mothers were much more likely than fathers to experience significant career interruptions in order to keep up with the needs of their family.
Realities like this are the reason that Students for Life of America (SFLA) supports better options from employers so that families can be supported if two incomes are needed with tax incentives, paid leave, and flexible work schedules.
In a cruel way, many employers have instead added to the culture of death by enticing employees with covered abortion travel and expenses. Employers stand to benefit from this choice as their staff becomes child-free and able to work on demand, but you won’t find it so plainly written in your onboarding packet.
The show continues with the father “coming to his senses” and calling his wife to tell her that she can choose what she wants to do with her body, but thankfully Nurit has already been deeply moved from hearing the thumping waves of her babies’ heartbeat during an ultrasound.
Most abortions are done early in pregnancy but the truth is that heartbeats are detected as early as six weeks.
The sound that establishes our lives ought to have an impact on women and lawmakers across the board who push for late-term abortions despite the truth of a real person with a beating heart and worthy future.
On a battlefield or in an emergency room, usually we rush to care for a person in need with a heartbeat, but that’s not always the assumption when the sound comes from a precious, preborn life.
SFLA polled Gen Z and Millennials and found almost 7 in 10 support limits on abortion based on a baby’s stage of development with 17 percent drawing the line when a heartbeat is detected.
Fans of "Fauda" saw how one fictional character was forever changed by encountering the reality of her baby’s heartbeat; turns out us clumps of cells are real people with distinct DNA and that deserves to be defended as a fundamental right.
Dana Stancavage is the Press Specialist & Online Editor at Students for Life of America. Before moving to Florida, Stancavage worked in political communication in Washington, D.C. and has had articles appear in Townhall, the Daily Caller, and other conservative publications.
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