‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’: Mei Lin Has an Abortion in a Pre-Roe World

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 opens with shocking news from Mei Lin (Stephanie Hsu). Mei was pregnant and Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen) planned to marry her at the end of season 4. But marriage and a baby didn’t fit into Mei’s plans to become a doctor.

In an emotional scene, Mei tells Joel there is “no baby.” And that she plans to continue her pursuit of becoming a doctor in Chicago. The Maisel writers took care in addressing how the scene was handled. The word, “abortion” was not featured in the episode. But the actors and writing made it clear that Mei chose to terminate the pregnancy.

Mei could not have a legal abortion in New York in the ’60s

Mei appears to be physically unharmed by the procedure, but having an abortion pre-Roe vs. Wade, which passed in 1973, was often dangerous and deadly. In January 1973, “the Supreme Court issued its landmark 7–2 decision in Roe v. Wade, protecting a woman’s constitutional right to choose,” according to The White House.

But before 1973, abortion was both illegal and dangerous. Even though New York eventually overturned the abortion ban in 1970, three years prior to Roe, abortion was illegal nationwide. That meant that Mei had to find abortion access, which often meant traveling to places like Puerto Rico. Or consider a risky procedure, usually performed in unsafe conditions.

Some women had to travel for an abortion

Roberta Brandes Gratz had an abortion at a clinic and Puerto Rico and recalled the experience to PBS. “It was the kind of hospital where women gave birth, as well as had abortions. So you heard babies crying, and you saw women who were there for the same reason you were,” she said.

“I had an anesthetic. It did not totally take, so it was partially painful. But it was humiliating because I knew I was doing something illegal,” she added.

Women who lived through the era recall how dangerous it was to have an abortion prior to 1970. “We had almost no options. You would either put yourself at risk by self-inflicting an abortion, using knitting needles, crochet needles, anything that could stop — take big black pills. There was no other option that I knew anything about,” healthcare activist Byllye Avery said.

‘Maisel’ cast and writers knew Mei’s abortion would be a surprise

Michael Zegen teased that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel premiere would be surprising. “I think people will be surprised by some of the scenes that happened this year, they’re unlike anything we’ve done before,” he told Today, likely referring to flash-forward scenes of the characters years later, but also the abortion storyline.

Of course, the fallout for Joel is anger and confusion. Mei leaves New York and he’s left to face his own feelings of loss and sadness, unable to truly open up to others. His anger leads him to get into a physical fight behind his club at the Mahjong parlor, where he is beaten.

And while Mei has left to pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor, where does that leave Joel now that the future he envisioned with her has vanished?

Episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 are currently streaming on Prime Video.