Plan to see “Unplanned”

“Unplanned” is now showing in area movie theaters.  It complements the movie “Gosnell,” which was released last October.  The true stories behind both films are what give them genuine power and inescapable conviction.

In 1973, when the Supreme Court handed down its decision legalizing abortion, the use of ultrasound in American hospitals was just getting started.  The amplification of ultrasound techniques over the past four decades has given us a magnificent window into the miracle of life, which cannot be denied.  

When Abby Johnson witnessed by ultrasound the reaction of a fetus in the process of being suctioned from its mother’s womb inside a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic, she underwent a transformation. A transformation from being the youngest director of a Planned Parenthood clinic to exposing the abortion pipeline undergirding Planned Parenthood’s billion dollar industry.

“Unplanned” is a story of personal redemption, which goes beyond the protagonist Abby Johnson to envelop all who have experienced or condoned abortion. It complements the “Gosnell” movie, which exposed the particular horrors of late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell, now serving life in prison without parole.

For these two movies to emerge within five months of each other, speaks to cultural currents that are stirring.  

These currents pulled my husband and me to a theater in Fairfax last night to see “Unplanned.” When we arrived, we were told there were no tickets available because the movie was sold out. Divine Mercy Care of Fairfax had organized the event.  Providentially, I saw a friend involved with Divine Mercy Care who invited us to stay for the movie.

When we returned home, I opened a file drawer where I kept one paper from my senior year in college.  I wrote it a year after the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion. The paper focused on the abortion controversy, exploring the historical interplay among church, state and family over millennia.  I concluded by stating that, if a change in abortion laws were to come about, “it will be through continued and indefatigable pressure from those opposed to the abortion laws – religious groups in particular – who are able to sway not only public opinion, but the lawmakers as well.”

Forty-six years of indefatigable pressure is bearing fruit.