It is considered a groundbreaking show due to bringing the controversial issue of abortion into people's living rooms and forcing families to confront this open secret.
Her daughter, Carol, encourages an end to the pregnancy; her husband, Walter, insists he will support any choice Maude makes, promising he will have a vasectomy, which he is actually reluctant to do.
[1] According to a 1992 Chicago Tribune article The first showing of "Maude's Dilemma" was carried by all but two of CBS' nearly 200 affiliates and attracted nearly 7,000 letters of protest.
By the time the shows were repeated, in August 1973, a campaign against them had been organized by the United States Catholic Conference.
[3] However, an August 14, 1973, New York Times article published the same day the episode's first summer rerun premiered stated that only 25 CBS affiliates had refused to air the repeat showing.