Xo had told Rogelio in the Season 3 premiere of Jane the Virgin that she wouldn't be having Esteban's baby, so it wasn't too surprising that Jane's mom had an abortion on Jane the Virgin. And while Xo is a grown woman fully capable of making her own decisions, she was still very concerned about what her mother would think. Although Rogelio, Jane, and Michael knew about Xo's decision to have a medical abortion, Alba didn't and "Chapter 46" showed the aftermath of Xiomara informing the religious Alba about her choice.
After a medical bill arrived at the Villanueva house, Xo became paranoid that Alba had figured out that her lie about a stomach flu had really been about her abortion. While Jane the Virgin has dealt with the topic of a woman's choice before, Xo's abortion came about relatively quickly with her making the decision and having the procedure done in the time span of just two episodes. This is true to life since a medical abortion is also known as the "abortion pill" because if you choose to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks, then it's an option where you don't need to go through a surgical procedure. That doesn't mean it was easy for Xo, but it was obviously the right choice for her considering that in Season 2 she had heartbreakingly ended her relationship with Rogelio because she was so certain she didn't want to have another child.
Alba hadn't actually discovered that Xo had gotten an abortion, but Xo ended up telling her mother anyway. Although Alba had told her daughter to get an abortion when she had become pregnant with Jane as a teenager (Jane's abuela claimed she still regretted saying that), she was not supportive of Xo's decision this time around. Xo was taken aback at her mother's judgment and told Rogelio, "She's making me feel guilty about not feeling guilty." Because for Xo, it hadn't really been a question of whether or not she would have a baby with a man she didn't care about.
Xo stayed at Rogelio's home for a few days rather than deal with her mom and even though you wouldn't think her ex would offer her any support for accidentally getting pregnant by his acting nemesis, Rogelio was full of wisdom. Yes, his American accent for his Hawaii Five-0 audition was ridiculous (it was a three-episode arc!), but his message was full of female empowerment. "If you're sure about your choice, that's all that matters," Rogelio said. If you ignore the fact that he followed that up with, "Keep it real, brah," then you can see why his message comforted Xo and made her feel more confident that she had made the right decision for her.
By the end of the episode, Alba also came to terms with Xo's choice and the women made up. Did the strict Catholic agree with what Xo had done? Of course not. Instead, Alba simply stated, "I don't agree with your decision, but it's your decision. We're different, the end." And that's really what a woman's choice and reproductive rights are all about — you may not necessarily agree with it, but that doesn't mean you get to have a say in what a woman does with her own body.
Images: Michael Desmond/The CW (2); Giphy
