How The Pitt Sheds Light on Real-Life Health Equity Themes like Black Maternal Health, Fertility Care, and Abortion Access

Note: This piece contains spoilers for season one of The Pitt.  

I often boast to friends and family that I am more than qualified to set their broken bones (I’m not), that I could easily intubate them if needed (I can’t), and that I won’t pass out at the sight of their blood (I will). I owe this misplaced confidence to my love of medical dramas—Grey’s Anatomy is my comfort show, and I consider the hundreds of hours I’ve spent watching Meredith, Cristina, and McDreamy saving countless lives equivalent to at least an honorary medical degree… right?? 

If you’re not yet convinced, thankfully there is a new show on the scene that I’ve been using to bolster my virtual medical training: The Pitt, a medical drama set in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania emergency room. 

As I watched episodes back-to-back-to-back, absorbing more and more medical “expertise,” I couldn’t help but notice how many storylines intersected with my *actual* job at the National Women’s Law Center. The Pitt tackles real-life issues faced by women and girls navigating the health care system, and doesn’t shy away from emphasizing that certain populations, like women of color and women with fewer financial resources, face notable barriers and disparities. 

For example, one of the most widely talked about episodes depicts a pregnant Black woman, acting as a surrogate for her friend and his partner, giving birth. We witness two life threatening birth complications—first, the infant’s shoulder gets stuck behind the pubic bone, and then the pregnant woman has significant postpartum bleeding. While these on-screen complications end up resolved and with happy endings, in reality, many pregnant Black women face far more tragic outcomes. Black women face disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, as well as infant mortality. 

In real life, Black women also face a higher risk for miscarriage, a devastating pregnancy outcome depicted on the show by one of the Black woman senior residents who used in vitro fertilization to get pregnant. After miscarrying, she expresses uncertainty about whether she will try to get pregnant again, noting the extremely high costs of fertility care and insufficient insurance coverage. The tens of thousands of dollars often required for fertility services notably prevents people with fewer financial resources—disproportionately women of color, women with disabilities, immigrant women, and LGBTQI+ individuals—from building their families. 

In another episode, when a Black woman is brought into the ER experiencing severe pain due to sickle cell disease (a condition that disproportionately impacts Black people), the paramedics incorrectly and discriminatorily assume she is someone experiencing drug addiction, likely due to racial and gender bias. She eventually receives appropriate treatment from a more culturally competent doctor, who is better attuned to the significant barriers Black women face receiving high-quality health care.   

The show also highlights the importance of access to timely abortion care, when a 17-year-old girl tries to obtain medication abortion. We see the patient and her doctors navigate a significant barrier to this necessary care—parental involvement requirements. The patient is legally required to obtain consent from her mother to access abortion care and is almost forced to carry the pregnancy as a result, underscoring the importance that all people have freedom to control their own bodies and lives. 

As other patients come in and out of the ER, we also get a glimpse into the critical role housing stability plays in health outcomes, and the importance of health care that is inclusive of all identities and experiences, including LGBTQI+ people and people with disabilities. For example, we witness the critical role social workers and doctors can play in alleviating barriers faced by unhoused patients, like stigma and uninsurance. In one case involving a trans woman, the show highlights the importance of respecting patients’ gender identity, such as by using correct pronouns. And for one patient with autism, we see the impact of providing care that is tailored to individual patient needs. 

So while I may not be a medical doctor, my (un)official diagnosis is in: The Pitt helps demonstrate the importance of equitable health care for all people, and I can’t wait to see what they tackle in season two.