Downton Abbey Meets Roe v. Wade | Susan Celia Greenfield @ Ms. Magazine Blog
The sparring begins in earnest when Dr. Clarkson detects the signs of Sybil’s pre-eclampsia and wants to perform a caesarean birth. Sir Philip assumes her “distress” is typical for any woman giving birth. But the episode transcends professional rivalry and even Sybil’s medical best interest: It concerns Dr. Clarkson’s respect for—and Sir Philip’s indifference to—Sybil’s independent personhood. In a telling moment, Clarkson draws Sir Philip’s attention to Sybil’s swollen ankles, a common sign of pre-eclampsia. “Maybe she has thick ankles,” Sir Philip responds. “Lots of women do.” But “she does not,” Clarkson says, because he knows Sybil as an individual. “You believed [Sir Philip],” Lady Grantham,” furiously reminds her husband in episode 5, “when Dr. Clarkson knew Sybil’s history and he did not.”