UNPLANNED

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, a woman who personally had two abortions, and was accessory to about 22,000 more abortions, a woman who is loved by God and totally forgiven.  She blows the whistle on Planned Parenthood, and every American deserves the right to see the truth about this organization that the Democrat Party is forcing us to fund through our taxes.  Abby Johnson’s first-person perspective is brilliantly presented in this movie, with the incredibly talented actress Ashley Bratcher phenomenally playing the role of Abby Johnson.

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.