A reader defends the show and takes a shot at moi. I have responses, but they’ll have to wait as I have a full plate today:

Jonah,
To be equally superficial: Why is it ok for The Simpsons to deal with abortion but not Ok for BSG?
You called it right when you observed that with only 50,000 people reproduction would have to a priority. How are they going to continue the show without confronting reproduction? The have dealt with sex-copulating-but its not Ok to go one step further? Could they just ignore reproduction? Not likely especially when one of the main flaws of the Cylon is its inability to reproduce as opposed to regenerate.
Finally you completely misread the framing of the dispute. Gaius, in a frighteningly astute political move framed the issue as a loss of freedom versus a religious imperative, but Gaius isn’t the official spokesperson of the show. He is the villain. I think you are missing something here like maybe even the irony. The President’s dilemma is that a lifelong fighter for reproductive rights is now opposed to abortion. She’s hardly a religious extremist. You’re missing more than the irony. The plot line glory of BSG is that it turns almost everything upside down and keeps it human. It is an amazingly well written program.
Finally there are no lost causes because there are no found causes. Abortion, could very well have been mostly settled in the pre attack colonies but have been rediscovered in the bleak post attack world.
In general I still like you’re writing. My only concern has always been a certain adolescent bent. In way that may be what’s going on here. You’re looking at BSG trough the eyes of a teenage sci-fi fan. BSG is more than that. It gets as close to real literature as any TV series ever has.
[Name withheld]
PS The sexes aren’t completely equal in the BSG military. When did you see a female Marine?