Celia. A Review.

I had an opportunity to view the first episode of a You Tube Series called Celia . It’s about a female Ob-Gyn, played by Alison Janey, one of my favorite actresses. In the first episode, Celia’s friend’s daughter Hannah (Dakota Fanning), almost age 18, presents to her office requesting an abortion.

Celia’s reaction to Hanna away is a bit un-professional, and, in my opinion, not quite believable. Most of us Ob-Gyns have provided confidential reproductive care to friends and family. Given her age, this would not have been the first time Celia had been approached by a young woman she knows on a sensitive issue. Her annoyed response to Hannah is just not believable, especially given her prior clinical experience providing abortions to teens.

Although Celia’s initial reaction might be discomfort with the situation, I would have expected her to quickly settle into her professional routine with this girl. Our routine is what we docs use to handle tough situations – it’s a safe place to go and something to do while we process (or avoid thinking about) what is going on internally. Celia would have done that – asking clinical questions, maybe even doing an exam before getting to the tough issue of whether she will provide this abortion or refer Hannah elsewhere.

The implication that the doc is known among the teen community as providing abortions without notifying their parents – also not quite believable in this day and age. Maybe I’m just a naive New Yorker who doesn’t get the reality of abortion restrictions elsewhere in the US, but I think that there is no way this character would have risked her license this way, especially in what sounds like a close professional community in a rather small town. More likely, she would have been able to refer her to an out of state reliable provider or convinced her to get parental permission, especially as she knows the parents and could act as an intermediary for Hanna in this regard.

I found Alison Janey, as always, to be a fabulous. (I loved her in West Wing)

Bottom line – Celia is an interesting, if not exactly realistic You Tube series. I’ll be watching subsequent episodes to see how it plays out.  (If there are any – this premier was in October.)