Ahead of the upcoming “Family Guy” table read, in which the cast members will do a run-through of the controversial “Partial Terms of Endearment” episode, details have emerged on the show that FOX decided not to air.
A Lois-centric episode, “Endearment” involves the Griffin matriarch agreeing to act as a surrogate mother for an infertile couple. When the couple gets into a car accident, Lois–and the rest of her family–debate whether she should still go through with the pregnancy.
According to THRFeed and comments from Seth MacFarlane, the original ending would have been ambiguous, with viewers unsure about Lois’ choice (until, presumably, witnessing the lack of a new child in future episodes). The episode was recently changed, however, to feature Peter Griffin coming on in the final frame to confirm, “She had the abortion.”
“The subject matter makes it sound like the raciest thing we’ve ever done, but it’s a balanced episode,” said MacFarlane.
FOX’s Kevin Reilly added that while the network generally opts against censoring “Family Guy,” “It was a business decision. It was fragile subject matter at a sensitive time.”
