Meredith Grey's 6 best and worst moments in 'Grey's Anatomy' history

During a major storyline in season 15, Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) committed insurance fraud for a patient named Gabriella Rivera, whose father, Luis, applied for state health insurance and was denied.

Meredith put her daughter Ellis's name on Gabby's forms so that her health insurance would be charged. Gabby had come to Grey Sloan with abdominal pain that was later discovered to be cancer.

When Meredith eventually confessed, she had to face the medical board, putting her medical license at risk in court. But her colleagues and some of her former patients returned to defend her character, and she was able to retain her license.

She went on to publish an article about the flaws within the US healthcare system, a topic rarely explored on TV.

Meredith's actions, while flawed, were undeniably badass.

In "Grey's Anatomy" season 11 episode 11, "All I Could Do Was Cry," Jackson (Jesse Williams) and April (Sarah Drew) were preparing for the birth of their baby Samuel, who they knew was going to die of osteogenesis imperfecta after he was born.

While other doctors in the episode at least lit a candle for the family before going about their day, Meredith was too busy trying to find a babysitter for her kids so she could visit Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and have sex. She seriously went around the hospital begging colleagues to do her a favor so she could have sex while her coworkers were preparing for their newborn to die.

What's worse, in the next episode, viewers learned she didn't even end up going to Washington, D.C. to visit Derek. Instead, she got a hotel room in Seattle and had some time to herself.

Meredith wasn't actually very close to April or Jackson, but this is still one of the crassest moments she's had throughout 19 seasons of "Grey's."

Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) was diagnosed with cancer in season five. To keep her mind off the disease, Meredith and Derek involved her in helping to plan their wedding

When Izzie learned she had a new tumor, Meredith and Derek decided to give Izzie and her boyfriend, Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), their wedding, since she was the only person really excited about it anyway. Meredith and Derek eventually exchanged vows on a Post-it note.

Meredith's actions were a bit self-serving, but giving Izzie her wedding day was one of the most significant gestures of friendship Meredith ever made to someone other than Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh).

In the season six finale, hospital shooter Gary Clark (Michael O'Neil) came into the OR where Cristina was performing surgery on Derek to save Derek's life after Gary had shot him. He threatened to shoot the team of doctors and nurses trying to save Derek's life.

When Meredith saw what Gary was doing from the OR's scrub room, she walked in and told Gary to shoot her instead of anyone else, putting herself between the gun and her colleagues.

Her actions seem heroic on the surface. But she exacerbated the danger for everyone else in the operating room by encouraging Gary to shoot. When Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) lunged for the gun, Gary shot him in the shoulder.

Meredith was pregnant at the time, and the stress of the situation was the catalyst for her miscarriage.

Meredith has made many brave decisions in "Grey's Anatomy." But arguably none was braver than her choice in season two, episode 17, "As We Know It."

She saved countless lives when she put her hand in a patient's chest cavity to prevent a homemade explosive from going off. She had almost no choice in the moment; a scared paramedic named Hannah (Christina Ricci) had taken her hand out and fled the scene. If Meredith didn't act, there was no telling how much carnage there could've been.

Risks are called risks for a reason — we never know if they'll go well or have devastating consequences. This risk was Meredith's most iconic.

Early in season eight, Meredith and Derek were in the process of adopting Zola. But they were also estranged because Derek was mad at Meredith for tampering with a clinical trial. Meredith had been fired from Seattle Grace-Mercy West for her actions.

She feared that her unstable marriage and the fact that she was unemployed would stop Zola's adoption from becoming official. But instead of being honest, when a social worker came to the hospital to check in, Meredith took Zola and ran. She only hid with the baby in the hospital, but dumb isn't a strong enough word to describe her actions.

Ultimately, Meredith's choice resulted in Zola being removed from Meredith and Derek's custody. They were investigated, and Zola eventually came home.

Meredith's actions proved that a mother's first instinct isn't always what's best for a child. Her intentions weren't to harm anyone, but running through the halls of the hospital with Zola in her arms was still Meredith's most shameful moment.

"Grey's Anatomy" airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.