'Law & Order: SVU' Fans React to Revelation from Benson in a Deleted Scene from the Latest Episode

The latest episode of NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" pulled at the heartstrings of loyal fans when they learned something new about their favorite character. 

On Wednesday night, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and the rest of the NYPD SVU team were faced with a controversial case when a teenage runaway came specifically to New York City to get an abortion. 

Although the team, including the newest member Detective Katriona "Kat" Azar Tami (Jamie Gray Hyder), were all on the same side, their differing beliefs caused lots of tension in the station.

Most of the cast are religious in some form. In fact, the episode opened with the baptism of Detective Rollins' (Kelli Giddish) daughter. Benson and Fin (Ice-T) both attended.

Later, Kat presents them with the case of the missing girl, Evangeline, whom she and Fin soon find panhandling in the streets. They take her to the hospital and find out that she's 12 weeks pregnant. 

The doctor adds that she's been sexually active for at least two years — willingly or unwillingly. Evangeline is just thirteen years old, and she's been raised by her parents as a fundamentalist Christian. 

She's torn up about the situation, but she knows she wants an abortion. She begs the detectives not to tell her parents, but when her mother and stepfather Jim arrive in New York, they find out. 

The station calls in a lawyer and CPS services on behalf of Evangeline — to help with her medical rights and to deal with the alleged sexual abuse respectively. 

At first, viewers are led to believe that another young boy from the church named Isaac impregnated Evangeline, yet when a heated court session takes place, a stunning revelation comes to light. 

Evangeline accuses her stepfather Jim, who came into her life at nine, of abusing her from since she turned 11. The young girl is adamant that she won't go back home to Ohio. 

Evangeline's mother Tammy does not want to believe it. More so, she and Jim are united in their refusal to allow their daughter to get an abortion. Their position is backed by a religious official who bursts into the court. 

A man named Graham serves several warrants and attempts to get all the officers, including the judge, arrested for their part in helping Evangeline go through with the abortion, a.k.a, for doing their job. 

The judge refuses, and a plea is later denied by the Supreme court. All this is delaying the window for Evangeline to get the abortion done. In a twist, she throws herself down a flight of stairs. 

At first, everyone believes it to be an attempt to end the pregnancy, but Evangeline says she wanted to take her own life. She tells her mother who's at her bedside about her stepfather.

Benson also speaks to Tammy, informing her that she either has to side with her daughter and get rid of Jim, or Evangeline will be placed in foster care. She chooses her daughter. Later, a DNA test leads to Jim getting charged for abuse.

Carisi, who is Catholic, has a stand-off with Graham. He reveals that his mother had an abortion. Then, he expresses disgust that Graham would be okay with Jim abusing Evangeline.

In the final scene, Rollins accompanies Evangeline for a medical abortion. The episode is a jolting one, but a deleted scene shared on the show's twitter page is what really made the tears flow for fans. 

In a short clip, we see as Benson and Rollins have a private discussion on the topic. Benson tells Rollins that when she was 19 and in college, she thought she was pregnant for a boy she liked. 

She made a call to an abortion clinic and agonized as she waited for the appointment to arrive. On the way there, she got her period. She never got pregnant again after that. 

"Do I regret never having a biological child even now?" Benson sometimes wonders. It doesn't matter since she's happy with her adopted son Noah. Fans are happy, too — kinda.

One person wrote: 

"I am ugly crying in the corner. This is so beautiful." 

Many people were disappointed by the fact that the scene was deleted. "Pretty important scene to have been left out," said one fan. Another called it "powerful." 

One fan said they were "proud of Evangeline" and of the show overall "for taking on such a tough topic." They addressed the scene with Carisi, calling it "amazing," before giving props to Rollins.

Another wrote: 

"Wow AND you had Carisi break my heart too, but also PUT HIM IN HIS PLACE. HIGH QUALITY CARISI CONTENT SO FAR THIS SEASON."

Carisi's dramatic scene was moving, but Benson ultimately stole this week's episode with her raw honesty. It's no surprise. Loyal fans have loved the new SVU captain for all 21 seasons that she's been on the air. 

Hargitay loves her job as well and makes the extra effort to do it right by training in real-life scenarios and through interviews. The fact that the actress is so personally involved in her work makes the show that much more genuine and moving for fans.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org.