“Their choices are up to YOU” is the tagline for the new pseudo-reality show “Bump+.” [1] A fictional Web series designed to look like a reality show, “Bump+” follows the stories of three women facing “unintended pregnancies.” Their decision as to whether to abort, or bring their babies to term and either put them up for adoption and keep them, rests on the viewers, who weigh in via the “Bump+” Web site. Yes, killing of the unborn has now become interactive entertainment.
Washington Post's Kathleen Parker [2] described the show as “Jerry Springer meets Oprah meets 'American Idol' meets Dr. Oz meets … America's conscience.” Christopher Riley, the show's co-executive producer it was “inspired” [3] by President Obama's call last year [4] to find “ways to communicate about a workable solution to the problem of unintended pregnancies.”
Riley also claims that the show isn't making a “moral or political statement”; it's just “starting a conversation.” That's hard to believe, though, just by looking at its title. As a commenter on California Catholic Daily [5] said, “The word 'bump' gives a pretty good idea of what is to come. If the unborn life is called a 'bump' when the conversation is supposed to be serious, I doubt that it will proceed much further than where it is now.”
“Bump+” is so controversial, in fact, that even pro-abortionists are snubbing it. A recent article [6] on Alternet.org, a leftwing Web site, said, “It's not exactly what we pro-choicers have always dreamed about: a decision left up to a woman, her doctor, and a vast and anonymous internet audience.”
The Web series will end in March when viewers will find out which of their solutions the producers consider “workable.” Whether or not the show has an agenda, the most disturbing aspect is simply that abortion has become such a fall back for “problem” pregnancies that it is now considered entertainment.