Commentary

Unplanned, the motion picture, continues to challenge the assumptions of Hollywood and the modern American culture.  It tells the story of Abby Johnson, an ostensible Christian southern woman, who became ensnared by Planned Parenthood while yet a student in college.  The independent film has expanded to over 1500 screens and is generating enough revenue to presently rank #4 in America, beating out a number of studio-backed productions.

I was able to see the film yesterday, and I am still processing it emotionally.

The film is well-acted and well produced. That is an important part of its appeal to a culture accustomed to slick production values.

I was also impressed by the decision of the film’s makers to avoid preaching pro-Life values at the audience. Abby Johnson’s story lends itself well to letting the dark reality of abortion and our cultural confusion speak for itself.  The film allows Planned Parenthood to be judged by its own words and actions.  And it presents the emotional struggle many women and girls face in dealing with an unplanned pregnancy with resonating compassion.  But the film won’t let the audience rest there. Unplanned shows, without blinking, that abortion does not resolve that struggle; rather, the lies of Planned Parenthood transform it into something much bigger, much more painful – a solution which cannot be undone.

The film is an exercise in truth-telling. It shows the slow-walk of Abby Johnson from accepting a “woman’s right to choose”, to rationalizing her work for Planned Parenthood as a way to reduce to abortions, to finally realizing that a human being is killed in an abortion.  It exposes the callous treatment women receive at the hands of their “liberators” – Planned Parenthood.

But the powerful heartbeat of this film is the inescapable truth that abortion stops a baby’s heart from beating.

After some forty-five years, no lawsuit or rally or bumper sticker has been able to alter that reality. Or to silence the voice of those crying out for justice on behalf of God’s little ones.

This film has the potential of altering the entire abortion debate in this nation. I encourage pro-Lifers to see the film, and to bring friends with them.  Even those with different views on the most important challenge of our time.  Let the truth of this film do its work in their lives

– David Ripley