If I could request that every American see one movie, it
would be UNPLANNED. By God’s grace,
everyone who sees this movie will come out of it a better person, regardless of
where we previously were religiously or politically. This movie tells the true story of Abby
Johnson, a woman who worked for Planned Parenthood for about eight years,
including as head of one of the facilities in Texas
In this movie, there is no judgment or pointing fingers at
women who have had abortions, only love.
In fact, the movie condemns the actions of those who aggressively and
hatefully point fingers, outside abortion clinics, and shows how when women
encounter that type of hostility, the abortion clinic itself, in comparison,
appears to be a loving, sympathetic, and understanding safe haven for those
women. It makes sense. If we, as Christians, want these girls and
women to run towards us and God’s better way, are they running towards the
loving open arms of God, or are they running towards clenched fists and
pointing fingers that misrepresent God, and will likely point those women right
back to the clinics? As someone who has
been staunchly, openly, and unapologetically pro-life, all my life, without
ever wavering, I still stand firmly anchored in my convictions against
abortion, but, by God’s grace, this movie helped dramatically change my
attitude towards women who have had abortions.
Rather than seeing them as heartless perpetrators of grave injustice, I
now see them as lovable victims of extreme medical malpractice.
In my life, I have been falsely diagnosed with pneumonia,
falsely diagnosed with having been born with a lazy eye, and have been
prescribed medication that not only failed to cure or alleviate my aliments,
but furthermore afflicted me with numerous unpleasant side effects. What does that have to do with the
movie? It is what gives me empathy for
those who put their trust in medical professionals whose advice, prescriptions,
and/or solutions ended up harming those who trusted these medical professionals. Do I blame myself for trusting medical
professionals? No. Then, how can I point fingers at these
thousands upon thousands of women and young girls who were outright lied to both
by the staff at Planned Parenthood, and by the liberal media that made them
believe that Planned Parenthood would be a decent and safe place to go to in
the first place? Like me, these women
and young girls were earnestly trying to make the best decisions for their
bodies, but were given faulty information as to what those best decisions would
be. The difference is that in my case,
it took longer for my ailments to heal.
In the case of these women, they are saddled with lifelong emotional
pain and regrets over choices that can not be unmade. These women and young girls don’t need
judgment. They need love, and most
importantly, they need Jesus, the only cure for their deep emotional turmoil.
In the movie, which I reiterate is based on a true story,
Abby Johnson is given a series of abortion pills, by Planned Parenthood, and
was told that what would happen to her would merely feel like a heavy
period. When she suffered intense and more
enduring pain, she called up concerned and was told that it was typical. She was flat out lied to at the time she
received the pills.
When a teenage girl had extreme life-threatening bleeding
complications, after an abortion, Abby Johnson was told by her supervisor not
to call an ambulance, because it would look bad for the facility, and that the
in-house doctor would heal her. Abby was
meanwhile told essentially to lie to the girl’s father about what happened.
These are just some of the examples of the horrors inside
Planned Parenthood that this movie reveals.
While the movie charitably makes it clear that many Planned Parenthood
employees are genuinely deceived into believing that what they are doing is
something good for women, the movie also clearly unmasks the factual reality
that Planned Parenthood, as an organization, takes a predatory approach towards
women, during those women’s most emotionally vulnerable time. It shows that corporately, Planned Parenthood
workers are given the goal to drastically increase the number of abortions that
are performed at the facilities. When
Abby Johnson questioned why they were trying to increase rather than decrease
abortions, she ended up reprimanded and told by the higher-up that abortion is
the biggest money maker for Planned Parenthood.
The movie addresses the fact that no woman wants an
abortion, in the way she may want a new car.
That is a key point. No little
girl dreams of someday having an abortion.
So, how is it, then, that thousands upon thousands of women have chosen
abortion, despite the fact that such a decision does not resonate with any
woman’s true soul essence or heart’s desires?
The answer is that many women feel trapped, as if abortion is their best
or only option. Why do they feel this
way? Planned Parenthood, like an abusive
man, wants women to feel trapped, isolated, alone, and powerless, and like they
(Planned Parenthood) are the only place that listens, cares, or will be there
for them. Then, Planned Parenthood sells
them a bill of goods, Abby Johnson admitting that she was skilled at marketing
abortions.
Lila Rose of Live Action makes a cameo appearance in the
movie, as a reporter. For those who
don’t know, Live Action is the organization that used sting operations on
Planned Parenthood to reveal, among other things, that Planned Parenthood is
willing to cover up for human trafficking.
Pro-abortion proponents will often propagate the lie that there are no
laws on the books declaring what a man can or can not do with his own
body. Well, apparently, Planned
Parenthood actually believes that men should be free to use their bodies to
rape women and young girls, as long as those rape victims come to Planned
Parenthood for their abortions. Yes,
there is a war against women, and Planned Parenthood is on the front line
fighting against them, injecting sharp objects and poison into their bodies,
and misinformation into their minds.
No woman who is making choices about her body with a mind
that has been deliberately manipulated and misinformed by Planned Parenthood is
a woman who truly is making informed decisions with autonomy over her own
body. She has instead put her body into
the hands of someone who at best is a quack, and may be deliberately trying to
manipulate and harm her, for financial gain.
Being pro-life does not constitute desiring outside control over the
natural way that a woman’s pregnant body functions, but instead shows a desire
to prevent outside interference and control over the way a woman’s pregnant
body naturally functions. Being
pro-abortion, on the other hand, outright constitutes a desire for outside
control over the way a woman’s pregnant body naturally functions. This movie shows how Planned Parenthood is
outright pro-abortion, therefore outright in favor of controlling a woman’s
body by first controlling her mind.
So, despite everything Abby Johnson saw and was exposed to, what, after about eight years, made her finally leave Planned Parenthood and come to terms with the factual reality of what is still happening there? On the spiritual level, it was the intense
prayers of people in an organization called Coalition for Life, an organization
that prays outside abortion facilities, and lovingly tries to discourage women
from having abortions. On the worldly
plane, Abby Johnson was called into the room during an ultrasound
abortion. She saw, on the ultrasound,
the baby physically trying to move away from the abortion instruments, an
earnest and valiant attempt at self preservation that ultimately ended in the
baby disappearing from the view on the ultrasound, as blood flowed though
medical tubes. The reality struck Abby
Johnson, and she knew she could no longer be a part of this. Even though that baby’s earthly existence was
less than nine months, by God’s grace, that baby became a martyr from the womb,
instrumental in changing multiple lives for the better, and saving many more. We see the overwhelming grace of God, as Abby
Johnson had a total change of heart!
How do we tell children who were conceived in rape, or in
incest, or in adultery, or in fornication, that God simultaneously has a
positive purpose and plan for their lives, yet He would not approve of them
practicing the very behavior that led to their existence? That sounds contradictory, yet it remains
true. The amazing new Matthew West song
“Unplanned” that is played during the ending credits reveals the answer. “Oh I don’t believe in accidents. Miracles, they don’t happen by chance. As long as my God holds the world in His
hands, I know that there’s no such thing as unplanned.” God can bring good things out of behavior He
disapproves of. Take the crucifixion of
Christ as the ultimate example.
What an incredible story!
What incredible courage by Abby Johnson to become so vulnerable to the
world in sharing this story! What
bravery by Ashley Bratcher and the rest of this stellar cast for their
willingness to risk drawing the ire of the elites in their own industry. Most importantly, what an amazing God we
have!
For people confronted with an unanticipated pregnancy, women
who have had abortions and are looking for healing, or people working in the
abortion industry who want to find a safe way out, by God’s grace, you can find
resources and help at https://www.unplannedfilm.com/resources.
