'Degrassi: Next Class' Star Gets Real About Show's Abortion Storyline in Season Three

Degrassi is known for not shying away from tough issues and seeing how each of their characters react to it.

In the upcoming season of Degrassi Next Class, the Netflix show will take on the abortion storyline once more and viewers will get to see Lola, played by Amanda Arcuri, go through with the procedure and viewers will be inside the room with her.

“We’re constantly reading the stats and keeping apprised as to what’s happening and also have our finger on the pulse of some of the scary right-wing thinking that’s out there,” series co-creator Linda Schuyler shared about the decision for the story. “We’ve also done an equal number of stories of kids who get pregnant and make different choices.”

She adds, “So it’s not like we are advocating, ‘Get pregnant, get an abortion.’ But we really felt that it was very important, particularly in this day and age when the abortion debate is coming back on the main stage, that we wanted to demystify it.”

“Our message is not: ‘Use abortion as birth control.’ Far from it, but we also want to respect the dignity and the rights of a young woman to be able to make her own informed choices.”

Click inside to see what Amanda Arcuri says about Lola’s choice…

The episode will see Lola research all her options for weeks before deciding on an abortion. However, when a counsellor at the clinic stresses that she can take more time to think about her options, Lola insists she wants to go through with it.

“I think that it will help a lot of teenagers realize that, ‘Hey, it’s OK if I do this because it is my body and I can be strong after this, I’ll get through this, I have lots of people supporting me,’” Amanda shared.

She adds, “Some girls will have an emotion and cry for days after and some will feel strong and feel liberated and feel like it wasn’t a big deal. And I think it’s a good way to tell a story – that people react differently, Lola’s reaction is justified, it’s normal, it’s okay.”

The previous characters who opted for an abortion were Erica Farrell, Tessa Campanelli, and Manny Santos.

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Degrassi Next Class will premiere on Friday, January 6th on Netflix.