Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (TV series) Porter paid Jim Abbott to perform an illegal abortion on girlfriend Terry Andrews, who later died, a disenchanted Mia decides to return to Hong Kong. Iris becomes emotionally involved with Jim, but the scandal surrounding Terry Andrews forces him to leave San Francisco for New York. Laura decides not to take her final vows and leaves the church for Mark, who ends his relationship with Iris and begins a career as an architect. Lt. Tom Donnelly (Robert Burr) helps Helen (Grace Albertson, Gloria Hoye) overcome her grief when husband Phillip (Len Wayland) dies suddenly, and after a short courtship, the
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (TV series) patient, the result of a botched abortion. Unwilling to compromise her story for CBS executives, Phillips quit the series, as the character of Mia Elliott was written out of the series in March 1968, never to be mentioned again. CBS and 20th Century-Fox Television were then the co-producers of the show. Phillips' resignation led to the end of Fox's role as co-producer and distributor. In February 1968, Irna Phillips was replaced by husband-and-wife writing team Jane and Ira Avery. The Averys quickly refocused the series on two families: The Donnellys and the Elliotts. The Donnelly family was headed by widower