Private Practice
TUESDAYS 10|9c
Season 4
PRIVATE PRACTICE - "God Bless the Child" - A second trip to the ER sparks concern for Betsey's well-being and prompts the doctors to launch an investigation into her new foster family -- risking sending the little girl back into the system. Meanwhile, Naomi makes a life changing decision for her family, and a struggling Amelia slips further away from sobriety, on "Private Practice," THURSDAY, MAY 12 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/RANDY HOLMES)KATE WALSH
God Bless the Child
Season 4 | Episode 21 | Aired 05/12/11

Addison treats Patty, a hardworking woman who thought she had gotten an abortion months ago. The hack doctor who performed the procedure missed the embryonic tissue. In other words, Patty is still pregnant. At 19 weeks, the woman has a difficult decision to make. As you may have guessed, this situation has Naomi and Addison at odds.

Their great debate is put on hold once Violet gets word that Betsey has been admitted to the ER. According to her foster parents, she took a tumble down the stairs. When Cooper learns Betsey broke her collarbone a few months ago, he suspects abuse. Naomi says none of this would be happening if someone had taken the little girl after Dell died. This sparks Great Debate II.

Episode Photos See all
  • Stay or Go? By Noah Evslin, Director of Medical Research If you watch our show closely, you realize it's not the medical treatments that make Private Practice different than other shows on television; rather, it's the ethical debates our doctors have over any of the myriad decisions they need to make every week. Although the main medical storyline in the Season Five opener, "God Laughs," revolves around Pete's massive heart attack, it's the smaller storyline that I want to explore here – the story of JOANNA GIBSON, a successful career woman who was physically abused by her husband of over a decade. The story takes place primarily at the airport where Violet was waiting for a plane to New York. While sitting at the gate, Violet can't help but overhear a heated discussion between Joanna and her husband DAVID where he begs her not to throw away twelve years of marriage over a single fight. After David leaves to get coffee, Violet gets more information out of Joanna. She's a successful lawyer. In the early parts of their marriage, David worked two jobs to put her through law school. He then remained supportive while she worked around the clock. But now, many years later, David's changed. He's no longer supportive. And the last time they fought, David hit her. This brings us to this week's ethical debate: Should somebody throw away an entire marriage over one incident of physical abuse? In the United States, there are between 1 and 3 million cases of domestic abuse every year, and women of all races are equally vulnerable to violence by their partner. What makes this story particularly interesting is that there was no history of abuse for Joanna. She thought she had a great marriage, a successful marriage, a safe marriage, and then during one particularly bad fight, David violated that trust. For people who view domestic violence from the outside, the advice seems obvious: if your partner abuses you in any way, you leave them. But for people on the inside, the answers aren't always so clear. For many, there are financial concerns. For others, there's the issue of children. For almost everybody, there's the not inconsequential issue of still being in love with the person that is abusing you. What Violet tells Joanna is that after David hit her, she felt the need to leave him and go somewhere safe. Why should she doubt that instinct now? She also tells Joanna she can't pretend it never happened and she needs to take back control of her life.
  • PRIVATE PRACTICE - "God Bless the Child" - A second trip to the ER sparks concern for Betsey's well-being and prompts the doctors to launch an investigation into her new foster family -- risking sending the little girl back into the system. Meanwhile, Naomi makes a life changing decision for her family, and a struggling Amelia slips further away from sobriety, on "Private Practice," THURSDAY, MAY 12 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/RANDY HOLMES) CATERINA SCORSONE
  • PRIVATE PRACTICE - "God Bless the Child" - A second trip to the ER sparks concern for Betsey's well-being and prompts the doctors to launch an investigation into her new foster family -- risking sending the little girl back into the system. Meanwhile, Naomi makes a life changing decision for her family, and a struggling Amelia slips further away from sobriety, on "Private Practice," THURSDAY, MAY 12 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/RANDY HOLMES) KADEE STRICKLAND
  • PRIVATE PRACTICE - "God Bless the Child" - A second trip to the ER sparks concern for Betsey's well-being and prompts the doctors to launch an investigation into her new foster family -- risking sending the little girl back into the system. Meanwhile, Naomi makes a life changing decision for her family, and a struggling Amelia slips further away from sobriety, on "Private Practice," THURSDAY, MAY 12 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/RON TOM) AMY BRENNEMAN, TIM DALY
Featured Characters See all character bios

ABC.com

Company Information

Partners