I was curious to see exactly what was said by everyone because I'd seen people swearing off the show due to the pro-abortion stance, which, to be honest, is only to be expected these days in medical shows.
We were both pleased and disappointed.
We were pleased by the fact that while House was spouting his nihilistic viewpoints forged by suffering, there was a counterpoint of showing that life, however worthless it might seem to someone else, is always sacred. While House was doing his best to be "compassionate" in his own warped view by bludgeoning the girl into aligning with his idea of what was best, Cameron listened to the homeless man's desire to have his death mean something. Even though she didn't agree with what he thought about how to make sure he was remembered (by dying naturally, pain and all), she honored his wishes and his life by sitting with him until the end. The tenderness with which she cared for his body afterwards was well shown. She cared. He had mattered even if in the eyes of the world he was meaningless. He was a human being and he had mattered even if, as he told her, he had no family, friends, or job. His life was sacred.
We were displeased not so much by House's pro-abortion message (to be expected and he has said as much before on the show) but as by the girl's lack of defense. If she truly was a student of comparative religion one would have expected she would have examined her faith along the way in the light of what she learned about other beliefs. Therefore, we would have thought that she might muster up a slightly better defense theologically. Certainly in such an environment one would have expected that she would have had to defend her faith against all comers. Let's get real. That's how it is these days, especially in college.
However, on one level it rang quite true for me in terms of the unexamined faith of someone who never has been put to a hard test in life up to that point. The oft-repeated phrases that haven't been given sufficient thought ("life is sacred") suddenly have hard meaning put against them as a measure. These tests of faith come when we are vulnerable and often mistakes are made along the way, especially if we put our faith in someone who is a weak reed. Certainly there is not much more of a weak reed than House to lean on. In that context, her choice became logical ... quite regrettable as this was the writers' chance to be truly counter-cultural ... but logical. And logic and reason what House was pushing all along ...
In the end, it came down to supposed success for getting her to "talk about it so she can heal." However, the irony is that House himself, while bowing to the pressure of doing this and succeeding, pointed out that there is no panacea in "talking about it." He did and it helped him not a whit.
Obviously the writers were more interested in putting pressure on House to delve deeper and connect with someone despite the fact that he resisted the entire time. Yet, I still find it interesting that while House was pressuring the girl to discard an unborn life, they took the time to deliberately show the counterpoint that life is sacred.
From Shanghai Daily Photo.
