A Content Analysis of Abortion Storylines on U.S. Streaming Services: Lessons from Narrative Persuasion

Mediated representations of abortion have grown increasingly prominent in recent decades. Despite the potential for these depictions to influence attitudes toward reproductive rights, public opinion in the United States has remained largely static. To better understand how these representations may influence perceptions of reproductive healthcare, this study reports a theoretically-driven content analysis of narrative representations of abortion on U.S. streaming services (109 storylines). Guided by social cognitive theory (SCT), the extended elaboration likelihood model (E-ELM), and the model of narrative comprehension and engagement (MNCE), the analysis provides insight into how features of these representations might shape audience involvement with the narrative and its characters and influence views on reproductive rights. It also documents how these representations have changed over time, highlighting trends in representation across the decades. Subsequently, the analysis offers recommendations for how storytellers might better utilize these theories to engage with abortion decision-making in a fashion that maximizes the potential for involvement with the narrative and its characters and minimizes unintended stigma.