A teenage girl runs away from home to get an abortion and winds up brutally attacked, killing her unborn child.A teenage girl runs away from home to get an abortion and winds up brutally attacked, killing her unborn child.A teenage girl runs away from home to get an abortion and winds up brutally attacked, killing her unborn child.
BD Wong
- Special Agent Dr. George Huang, M.D.
- (as B.D. Wong)
- (credit only)
Fred Thompson
- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKeri Lynn Pratt, who plays the teenager Lauren, was actually 27 when this was filmed.
- GoofsWarner says the baby's cause of death was hypertension because the mother's severe internal bleeding caused the fetus to not get enough blood flowing across the placenta causing it to suffocate. So if that's true saying the COD was hypertension makes no sense at all, hypertension is when someone has high blood pressure, if the fetus wasn't getting enough blood it would have low blood pressure, also known as hypotension. But neither of those would be the COD here, if the fetus wasn't getting enough blood and died because of a lack of oxygen then the COD would by hypoxia, which is the technical term for the body's tissues not getting enough oxygen. Saying the COD is asphyxia (suffocation) is also incorrect because asphyxiation is a condition of insufficient oxygen in the body caused by abnormal breathing, and a unborn baby doesn't breathe.
- Quotes
John Munch: One look at a Britney Spears video, and the Golden Promise goes out the bedroom window.
- ConnectionsReferences Law & Order (1990)
Featured review
From the cradle to the grave
"Rockabye" has a topic that was and still is one of the most controversial there is in existence, that will spark a lot of debate and strong opinions on both sides. It is also one of the most controversial and toughest topics 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' ever tackled, which is quite amazing for a show that is known for its exploration of difficult subjects and its take no prisoners approach to them. A topic so relevant and worthy of addressing that it is a quite familiar theme for the 'Law and Order' franchise.
Season 7 was a lot less consistent in quality than the previous seasons, some terrific episodes but also ones that didn't work. "Rockabye" is neither one of the season's best, being nowhere near as amazing as "Raw" or especially 'Special Victims Unit' high point "911", or one of the worst, being much better than the disappointing previous two episodes "Name" and "Starved". The latter also covered the human rights debate (though not abortion), but "Rockabye" handles it a lot better and is a lot more tasteful.
It is not perfect. Other 'Special Victims Unit' episodes do a better job at seeing the controversial issue on both and all sides, while "Rockabye" to me always came over as an episode that makes it too clear what the writers' views on the subject are and over-emphasises on that side of the argument. This is especially apparent in Donnelly's views on abortion, which seem too personal for her to be involved, and the episode places too much emphasis on them.
The scenario is not always realistic or honest either, such as a doctor working at a clinic for something that he is against and the untruth of having a hard time finding an abortion clinic in New York.
Despite those (subjective) issues there is a huge amount to admire about "Rockabye". The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic. The direction is sympathetic but also alert. The characters are written well and are not handled too judgementally, something that is easy to do with this kind of subject.
Mostly, the script is thought-provoking and lean with the only reservations being the heavy-handed dialogue for Donnelly. The story isn't perfect, but it's compelling, quite poignant and hard to watch when you see and hear the extent of the attack the baby suffers. One of those cases that upsets and angers you, and one of those where one's hate is not towards the responsible. The acting is excellent all round, regulars and supporting.
Overall, good on the whole. 7/10.
Season 7 was a lot less consistent in quality than the previous seasons, some terrific episodes but also ones that didn't work. "Rockabye" is neither one of the season's best, being nowhere near as amazing as "Raw" or especially 'Special Victims Unit' high point "911", or one of the worst, being much better than the disappointing previous two episodes "Name" and "Starved". The latter also covered the human rights debate (though not abortion), but "Rockabye" handles it a lot better and is a lot more tasteful.
It is not perfect. Other 'Special Victims Unit' episodes do a better job at seeing the controversial issue on both and all sides, while "Rockabye" to me always came over as an episode that makes it too clear what the writers' views on the subject are and over-emphasises on that side of the argument. This is especially apparent in Donnelly's views on abortion, which seem too personal for her to be involved, and the episode places too much emphasis on them.
The scenario is not always realistic or honest either, such as a doctor working at a clinic for something that he is against and the untruth of having a hard time finding an abortion clinic in New York.
Despite those (subjective) issues there is a huge amount to admire about "Rockabye". The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic. The direction is sympathetic but also alert. The characters are written well and are not handled too judgementally, something that is easy to do with this kind of subject.
Mostly, the script is thought-provoking and lean with the only reservations being the heavy-handed dialogue for Donnelly. The story isn't perfect, but it's compelling, quite poignant and hard to watch when you see and hear the extent of the attack the baby suffers. One of those cases that upsets and angers you, and one of those where one's hate is not towards the responsible. The acting is excellent all round, regulars and supporting.
Overall, good on the whole. 7/10.
helpful•102
- TheLittleSongbird
- Apr 21, 2021
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