Everyone’s been so wrapped up in who may or may not die in the bus crash that happened at the end of DNC Season 2, that I’m guessing we really didn’t think of all of the other stuff that might be coming in Seasons 3 and 4.

In a recent interview with Rhianna Patrick from ABC.net, Degrassi co-creator Linda Schuyler confirmed Degrassi: Next Class will deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. However, she also casually dropped another major plot happening….

[SPOILER ALERT: THIS IS A HUGE SPOILER…IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW, DON’T READ BELOW]

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Linda also confirmed that they will be doing an abortion storyline in Degrassi: Next Class Season 3. During the interview she was asked about having received push back from broadcasters for certain storylines, and of course she mentioned The-N (now TeenNick) wanting her to alter the end of Manny’s abortion storyline in TNG Season 3. That’s when Linda mentioned that another abortion plot is coming in 2017:

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The news is kind of shocking, but at the same time not really. I guess I wasn’t expecting an abortion plot to happen this quickly, but as soon as Degrassi made the move to Netflix and we heard in every article that the show now has more freedom to tell stories the way they want to, it was definitely something I expected to happen at some point.

You can most definitely expect the upcoming abortion storyline in DNC Season 3 to be more intense than the ones they’ve done in TNG or even Degrassi High, because they won’t have to hold back anything for the sake of pleasing any networks.

For Newer Degrassi Fans: How Degrassi Handled Abortion in TNG

If you’re unfamiliar with The Next Generation (especially the early years), here’s a quick summary of what happened with the most-recent abortion storyline, which was created over a decade ago.

The episode Accidents Will Happen was a two-parter that the American broadcaster at the time (The-N) initially refused to air. Character Manny Santos got pregnant and ultimately wound up having an abortion, a decision she was resolute in. The-N did eventually air Accidents Will Happen several years after it was supposed to originally air.

However, the network’s discomfort with airing an abortion storyline to begin with had more of an impact beyond The-N not airing the episodes, namely how the story itself was told. The abortion plot itself had to remain self-contained within AWH, so Degrassi couldn’t do a followup plot or even reference Manny’s abortion in subsequent episodes. Manny’s pregnancy was referenced in an offhand remark made by Manny’s best friend Emma during an argument they had in Season 4, but the comment was obscure enough to not raise red flags for fans who’d never watched Accidents Will Happen.

Degrassi fans often complain (sometimes a little too much) about storylines being dropped after an episode or two, but Manny’s abortion was a case where they were basically forced to handle the story that way, or not do it at all. That type of restriction isn’t in place with Degrassi: Next Class, so we can expect them to create a thorough arc around the abortion plot in Season 3.