When I share that my son has hemophilia, I often encounter a series of predictable questions. Is he descended from a Russian Czar? No. Will he outgrow it? Absolutely not. Can you bubble wrap him? It’s tempting, but no! Surprisingly, no one has ever asked me if hemophilia is a condition resulting from incest. However, that changed after a recent episode of ABC’s Secrets and Lies, where a character stated, “Hemophilia is the nasty byproduct of incest.” Now, I’m left with the task of explaining to my son that he is not a product of such misconceptions.
I understand that television thrives on high ratings and profits, and that creative license often drives storylines. But what I struggle to comprehend is why the writers would never allow a character to say, “Homosexuality is a nasty byproduct of incest,” or “AIDS/HIV is a nasty byproduct of incest.” Such statements would incite outrage and protests. So why is it deemed acceptable to perpetuate such a harmful and inaccurate narrative about hemophilia?
Was it a calculated risk on the writers’ part, assuming that the general public wouldn’t catch the misinformation about a relatively rare genetic disorder affecting 1 in 5,000 males? Or did they think that the bleeding disorders community, comprising around 20,000 families in the U.S., wouldn’t have the platform to respond to this egregious mischaracterization? Perhaps they simply failed to utilize the wealth of information available online. A quick search on Google would reveal that hemophilia is an X-linked condition affecting mostly males, with 400,000 individuals globally living with it, and it is in no way tied to incest.
The portrayal on ABC’s Secrets and Lies is not just inaccurate; it’s damaging. If it was the writers’ intention to defame the entire bleeding disorders community, it’s appalling. As Jill Thompson, a prominent advocate in the hemophilia community, puts it, “It’s shocking that in this digital age, ABC would allow such misinformation to propagate. They need to address this mistake in a meaningful way.”
So far, over 3,000 people have signed a Change.org petition urging ABC to issue a public video apology, and that number is on the rise thanks to social media. With March being Hemophilia Awareness Month, this would be an ideal opportunity for ABC to acknowledge their mistake and show solidarity with the thousands of families affected by bleeding disorders.
For more insights into bleeding disorders, consider visiting the Hemophilia Federation of America or The National Hemophilia Foundation. You can also find valuable information on artificial insemination at this outstanding resource on artificial insemination and explore reputable options for at-home insemination kits like those offered at Make a Mom.
In summary, it is crucial that media platforms acknowledge their responsibility in portraying sensitive subjects accurately. The bleeding disorders community deserves respect and accurate representation, and ABC must take steps to rectify the misinformation presented in Secrets and Lies.
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