As the second episode begins, Hannah (Amy James-Kelly) is told that her statement reads well and the judge should take it seriously. They’re also going to do what they can to keep Hannah’s name out of it. She is asked about missing the deadline for termination before being told that there would be no deadline in England for her situation. She gets upset and admits she didn’t know and didn’t ask questions. She steps out onto the balcony and is told that people are too afraid to tell them what is available due to the restrictions in Northern Ireland. After that, Theresa Ryan (Sinead Keenan) talks to someone on the phone about a human rights case. She tells Mark Ryan (Owen McDonnell) that the trial is expected to start in April and last three weeks.

Mark isn’t happy and he reminds her that the attorney claimed it wouldn’t happen at all. He wonders if they’re doing the right thing not telling the family about the trial, but Theresa says she has the brunt of the responsibility and will deal with it her way. Mark says he understands before we see a news report being shot in front of the abortion protests. We learn that they’ve ruled in favor of the pro-choice group. Hannah asks her attorney about it on the way out. He explains the judge has ruled that the courts can go ahead and permit abortions in the cases of fatal fetal abnormalities. She doesn’t like that the government gets to remain in control since they’re the problem in the first place. She is urged to tell the world. She looks at the reporter and her solicitor admits it is a big step forward.

Rachel (Vanessa Emme) calls Theresa and tells her that the civil rights decision could be a game-changer for them. As she walks past Hannah and the reporter, she tells Theresa she is going to try to get them to drop the case against her. Hannah talks to the reporter and says she can’t sit by and do nothing while she knows other girls are going through the same thing. Later that night, Hannah and Jonathan (Colin Morgan) watch her interview together. Jonathan admits she isn’t the girl he married but he means it in a good way. He goes for a drink to celebrate and she says he should make a tea for two because she is pregnant and scared. Jonathan says he is scared too but also happy. Once they go to bed, Jonathan says it was a random thing that happened with Molly and neither of them is a carrier.

He tries to convince her that nothing will go wrong this time, but Hannah is concerned it’ll be the end of her if it does. Next, Rosie (Genevieve O’Reilly) reunites with David Fortress (Prasanna Puwanarajah) on the beach. They go to the clinic to get a check-up on their pregnancy and Rosie is told that 40 isn’t old nowadays. At work, Theresa learns about a woman gaining control of the assembly and she thinks it’ll be good to have a woman in charge. Orla (Lola Petticrew) comes in for a haircut but gets upset when the other women discuss abortion. She says she thinks it is a woman’s right to choose before storming out of the salon. Theresa follows her and asks when she raised her to be rude, but Orla says Louise is a bigot. Theresa says Louise (Kerri Quinn) is on her own and she would fight to stop abortion if she thought it was murder too.

Orla asks if she thinks what they did was murder but Theresa admits she doesn’t know. Nevertheless, Theresa says she’d do it all again if she had to. Next, Rosie gets a call from the clinic and learns that something bad was found in the test results. When she arrives at the clinic, she learns that the baby has multiple problems such as cysts on her brain and her stomach is sitting in her rib cage on top of her lungs and heart. Rosie contemplates getting a second opinion before she is told that the baby has Full Edwards’ Syndrome and it is incompatible with life. The doctor wants to talk about what to do if the baby survives birth because she’ll be in a lot of pain. He wonders if they should try resuscitating the baby or just making her comfortable.

The nurse follows her into the bathroom and recommends going to the mainland but stops when another nurse enters. When the other nurse leaves, Rosie is told she can go to Manchester of Liverpool. She tells Rosie that this is what all of the women do. Next, we hear a news report about the judge saying current law breaching women’s human rights and lawmakers voting on a plan to allow abortions in cases of fatal fetal abnormalities. Hannah is there because she wants to cheer on their victory, but she is told that the politicians will argue about it until kingdom come. They receive a call and learn that the lawmakers voted it down. One group celebrates but Hannah’s does not. When she returns home, she sits with Jonathan and watches a news report about the decision.

Hannah admits she doesn’t think she can continue doing this since she can’t look cheerful when she is such a wreck inside. He encourages her to stay home so they can be a couple of wrecks together. Rosie gets up and David tells her to go back to bed and he’ll get her something. She explains her pain is gone. David admits he accepted it was hopeless before she did, but he reminds her he isn’t the one going through it. She says she is ready so David says he looked it up and law in Northern Ireland says you can get a termination if the mother’s life is at risk. Or, there must be a risk of adverse effects on the mother’s physical or mental health and it has to be long-term or permanent. Next, Theresa gets dressed and leaves home in a taxi. Orla watches from the doorway as the taxi drives away.

Theresa meets with Rachel who immediately checks on her. Rachel admits she thinks the trial may not start today since the team believes it has enough to challenge the whole basis of the prosecution but Theresa doesn’t want any more delays. Theresa says her family doesn’t deserve this and her son is going to lose his mother. Rachel reminds her that she doesn’t deserve it either. Theresa knows Rachel has worked hard on this and she isn’t getting paid but she feels like giving up anyway. Rachel says she is the strongest person she has ever met and she is willing to fight it until her last breath as long as Theresa is right there beside her. While her mother is away, Orla enters her room and finds paperwork about the trial. Rachel enters and tells Theresa that the judge has granted them a 3-week delay so they’re going to file for judicial review.

They want to say that forcing Orla to give birth would’ve been inhuman, degrading treatment and against her human rights. However, she’ll have to give a written statement and Theresa doesn’t want that. When Theresa storms out, Rachel follows her and explains that Orla found her number. Theresa is given the phone so she can talk to her daughter. They meet at the park and Orla says they’re threatening to send her one and only mom to prison. Orla is adamant that she wants to help so Theresa says she can do more washing up at home. They laugh before returning home. Orla tells Mark she wants to go and see Rachel. She says she wants to be a grown-up and stand up for herself. She goes on to say she wants everyone to hear why her mother did what she did. Orla tells Mark she wants him to be there.

All three of them visit Rachel and Orla tells her story. She explains that she was only 15 and still a child herself. She wanted to go to a university and started telling her mother how her boyfriend treated her. Orla admits the idea of him being her boyfriend and being in her life for the long term made her physically ill. On top of that, she was worried he would physically abuse the child if she went through with the pregnancy. Mark says it isn’t fair and Orla shouldn’t have to do it but she says she does. He tells her how brave and beautiful she is. He says they’re all in this together from now on. Next, Rosie goes to the Greenfield Psychiatric Hospital and talks to someone about being ill for a long time and having a psychotic episode.

Her husband thought it would help for her to go to Northern Ireland. She explains she thinks he meets the requirements for termination since her mental health is at risk. However, the woman in charge admits it is hard to get approval for mental health reasons. She isn’t sure it is possible even though the law supports Rosie’s position. The doctor says the bar is set too high. She won’t help Rosie and she won’t advise her where to go for help either. She only wants to give Rosie medication even when she admits she is contemplating suicide but Rosie knows the medication could harm her unborn child. Rosie wonders who qualifies if she doesn’t. David makes an appointment for Rosie and tries to get her in the taxi before it is too late.

She admits she doesn’t think she can do it before getting ill and vomiting. David says he wishes he’d never brought her back here. The taxi leaves without her. Moments later, Orla gets a letter in the mail and tells her family she is going to university. She explains she is going to defer the first year so she can be there for her mother. Theresa’s mother knows something is up so Theresa tells her about it in private. She explains she got Orla some pills off of the Internet and she is the woman in the papers facing prison for doing that. They argue about Theresa keeping that from her mother. She says her mother was the type she wanted to please but never could. Her mother admits she would’ve brought a wraith down on her back then but things have changed.

Theresa says she can wait with her because waiting is all there is to it. They embrace and hug before Rosie goes for a walk on the beach. She drops to her knees and goes in for an ultrasound. She suspects that the baby is gone because she felt the moment when she died. The nurse says that the birth will be induced and she’ll get her booked into room five on Sunday. She says room five is what they call the bereavement suite. Rosie goes to a clothing store later and tells a woman about her baby. She admits it is dead already and she has to carry her around until Sunday. She sobs and says she has to find something for her to wear when she brings her home. The woman helps her find something suitable for the baby. She gives birth and they take the baby home with them. Next, Hannah gives birth to a healthy baby girl. They drop flowers off at Molly’s grave.

Then, we jump forward to January 9, 2017. We see a news report about Northern Ireland being without a government because Martin McGuinness has unexpectedly resigned and has taken Arlene Foster with him. Hannah listens as the reporter says all legislation including abortion law reform will fall. That convinces Hannah to return to the activist group and reunite with old friends. She wants to help but believes the government’s collapse has been a disaster for them. She is told that it will be an opportunity. Then, we are taken to November 7, 2018. Mark complains that the judicial review has taken three days and they still don’t have an answer. He doesn’t understand how Theresa isn’t furious over it. He tells her he misses the life when she could chat to him about anything.

She confesses she is worried the strength she has will fade away if she lets it all out with him. Late one night, Rosie hears a report about the high court in Belfast determining whether a mother should go to prison for helping her daughter have an abortion. She can’t understand that so she calls Right to Choose and talks to Hannah about the case. Hannah offers to take her name if she wants to give it before Rosie hears her daughter in the background. Rosie begins to break down and says she’ll call back at a later time but Hannah tries to get her to talk to her. She tells Rosie her name and Rosie returns the favor before admitting she can’t get over what happened. Rosie says she is too old and sad to try again. She goes on to say the worst thing was the doctors asking if they should resuscitate her if the baby was born alive.

It felt like they only got the right to choose after she was born. We’re taken to January 24, 2019. Hannah and other members of Right to Choose meet with the Women and Equality Select Committee with the House of Commons. The women are asked to talk about the laws of abortion in Northern Ireland and how those laws have impacted them. Hannah talks first and admits abortion was never on her radar. She tells them about the path leading to her pregnancy and her recent conversation with Rosie. She explains she was asked whether they should make the baby comfortable or resuscitate it. She insists she was only given a choice once the baby was no longer in her womb and that doesn’t make sense to her or others. After she finishes, we see it is July 9, 2019. We hear that parliament has voted in a landslide to legalize abortion. Hannah and Jonathan celebrate the decision with members of Right to Choose.

Before long, pro-life protesters take to the streets to strike back against the decision. Theresa approaches Louise and says the politicians might not pull themselves together before the deadline. Louise doesn’t think that will happen. Louise admits it feels hopeless and the bad guys are winning but there is nothing she can do. They sit down and admit they’re always there for one another. They chat briefly before Theresa says she stayed away from the church because she didn’t know how to be a good Catholic. Louise tells her that God loves her no matter what she does in her life. Then, we jump ahead to October 21, 2019 and the political parties have until midnight to form an administration. If they can’t come to an agreement, Westminister will step in to impose abortion law reform.

Rosie listens and learns that Arlene Foster has conceded defeat and abortion will no longer be a criminal offense after tonight. Hannah and the others celebrate while Arlene Foster encourages them to think about the people who will be sad today. Theresa watches the speech with her mother and Louise. On her way out, Louise promises to never give up. Once they’re gone, Orla tells her mother she is a Mother Hen and would mother a piece of string. Theresa begins crying before telling her daughter she is the last man standing. Then, we hear it is judgment day for Theresa. Rachel goes to court while Theresa waits for a phone call with her mother. Theresa gets the call and learns that she is not guilty since the prosecution offered no evidence against her.

Rachel asks for a statement to give to the media. Theresa says she finds it hard to put it into words. For the first time in six years, she can go back to being the mother she was without having this hanging over her. Theresa and the family watch Rachel give her statement on television. Mark says he wants to tell the whole world what his brave, beautiful women just did but Theresa tells him not to. When everyone steps out of the room, Theresa tells Orla it is the first day of the rest of their lives. Hannah finds out she is pregnant again so she steps outside and celebrates the news with Jonathan. While Rosie hangs out with David on the beach, we’re told that all women in Northern Ireland can have a termination up to 12 weeks in theory.

In practice, the new law continues to face strong opposition in Northern Ireland. In October 2020, the Northern Irish Department of Health acknowledged the legality of abortions but said it was “not required to commission the relevant services”. As a result, many women still travel to England to have abortions.

 

Three Families Review

Politics aside, Three Families was one of the better television series I watched during the past few months. It was respectfully done and eye-opening. Abortion is a controversial subject and I think we all know which side the show was on. Still, I don’t think anyone should feel disrespected or ridiculed. Although it only had two hours or so, it did a great job of humanizing the characters regardless of their opinions.

As for the main storylines, they were heart-wrenching. It was hard not to develop a relationship with the characters or sympathizing with them during their struggles. I really enjoyed seeing their stories and how the laws in Northern Ireland impacted these women. It felt authentic and showed a different side of the debate.

Plus, I can’t imagine I’ll forget the show in a few weeks. The acting was great as well. I would highly recommend watching Three Families. It was engrossing from start to finish and the finale scores an 8.5 out of 10. Check out the first episode recap of Three Families on Reel Mockery here.