An Unplanned Hagiography

Abby Johnson (Ashley Bratcher) in Unplanned

“An Unplanned Hagiography”

A Review of Unplanned by Nick Olszyk

MPAA Rating, R

USCCB Rating, A-III

Reel Rating, Four Reels             

            Disclaimer: There was a significant amount of controversy when the MPAA gave Unplanned a restricted rating (R), preventing anyone under 17 seeing it without a guardian. It is a grave evil and irony that in many states a woman under 17 could obtain an abortion without parental consent or even knowledge but could not see a film about abortion. However, this is the fault of our society, not the MPAA. Unplanned contains several scenes that graphic but honestly portray abortion and its aftermath. The R rating is appropriate. Please remember that the MPAA only rates films based on their content, not their moral outlook.

When I was seven years old, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I drew elaborate pictures, collected plastic figurines, and endlessly read library books on the subject. Fortunately, this was 1993: the year Jurassic Park premiered. I desperately wanted to see the film but had never experienced a PG-13 movie before and was nervous it would be too scary for my elementary aged sensibilities. Thus, I spent several months reading the 400 page Crichton novel to mentally prepare myself for what I guessed, correctly, would be would be a much more intense experience. As a visual medium – with a set time and large screen – it isn’t possible to pause, catch your breath, or contemplate the information. The best films wash over the viewer and make the real world disappear.

            My mother – who to this day wraps Lighthouse CDs as Christmas presents – gave me the book Unplanned a few years ago, saying she heard Abby Johnson speak and immediately bought me a signed copy. I was vaguely aware of her story: the former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate. I started her memoir…and didn’t make it past the third chapter. I couldn’t handle it. You can imagine my unease when I heard there was a film adaptation in the works. If the book was unreadable, how could I possibly see the movie? This visual adaptation was indeed direct, honest, and difficult to watch, but it was also kind, gentle, and, in the end, hopeful. That the film exists is blessing enough, but that it’s also of excellent quality was more than I could wish.

            Both the book and film begin with the turning point in Abby’s conversion, when she was asked to assist in an ultrasound guided abortion and witnessed firsthand the torture and execution of a fetus in real time. It’s a heartbreaking scene, but only the first of many. It was impressive how the directors Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon were able to dramatize an abortion visually in a manner that was direct and brutal but not offensive or unnecessarily graphic.

            The major of the story is told as an elaborate, narrated flashback to this event, beginning in college when Abby volunteers as a parking escort, distracting pregnant mothers from pro-life protesters and getting them inside the clinic quickly. She soon becomes a professional counselor, genuinely believing that she is helping women make sound life decisions, but admitting that she was “selling abortion hard,” having two abortions of her own in the process. Eventually, Abby becomes the clinic director, even winning several awards from Planned Parenthood for her track record. Unlike her predecessor, she engages the pro-life protestors directly and discovers they are not as monstrous as she was lead to believe. These scenes of interaction occur through the bars of a gated fortress familiar to all abortion clinics. Holding tightly onto the steel columns, cinematographer Drew Maw films Abby in a way to suggest she may be a prisoner or in a confessional.

            Throughout the film, Abby claims to be a good Christian. In her first conversation with a member of Planned Parenthood, she tells the perky girl in the pink cowgirl hat that she “figures she is pro-life because her family is.” The volunteer agrees, “Planned Parenthood is working to make abortion rare, but if a woman does make that choice, it should be safe.” Abby continues to attend services, read the Bible, and pray throughout her journey, although not every church is welcoming. She becomes an expert at deception and compartmentalizing, telling her daughter that a coworker “had a nosebleed, and that’s why there’s blood on mommy’s shoes” and attributing her director promotion as a sign from God. It used to be said that “the greatest trick the Devil ever played was getting people to believe he didn’t exist.” In the 21^st century, the Devil’s greatest lie is that Jesus Christ promotes his agenda. Yet, there’s always those pesky protestors who seem to have an answer for every objection and treat her with a kindness not found in her corporate overlords.

            This becomes especially apparent when Abby interacts with her former boss, who immediately turns hostile and cold. “Who do you think you are?” she sneers. “Soros. Gates. Buffet. These are our donors. That’s what you’re up against.” Leana Wen might have a few billionaires and politicians in her pocket, but what’s that against the great converts of history -  St. Paul, St. Augustine, or Bl. Bartolo Longo (look it up). Here’s the film’s greatest strength. Unlike other PureFlix venues like God’s Not Dead or The Case for Christ, Unplanned is not a treatise but a personal confession, a pre-hagiography of sorts. It is Abby Johnson’s Confessions, a beautiful story that has the potential to sway more hearts than any syllogism.

            One of my biggest worries was how Unplanned would handle the Planned Parenthood employees. If the filmmakers went too far in demonizing the opposition, it would be easy to write off Unplanned as unrealistic or biased. This was not the case. Most of the nurses and staff are portrayed as normal, usually compassionate individuals who believe they are promoting a noble cause. When Abby is pregnant with her third child, her co-workers throw her a baby shower right in the clinic. For the purposes of narrative, the “true villains” are the administrators and doctors who seem unconcerned with safety or decorum but extremely concerned about image and profits. Even allowing for drama, their actions and motivations are not unrealistic, often coming from eyewitness accounts, including Abby herself.

            If I am forced to admit any criticism, it would be only that the movie can be a bit wordy at times, nowhere nearly as preachy as Courageous or Fireproof, but some of the conversations do drag. A bigger concern is the intended audience. It would be hard to call Unplanned entertainment, although there is a healthy amount of levity to take the audience through the horrific moments. Nor could it be used as a devotional piece like Passion of the Christ. I’d like to think it could be used in schools as an educational tool, but it is not really appropriate for anything before college. It’s hard to find the niche where this movie could thrive. For now, it’s just enough to call it brilliant and hope others see it.

            This movie was difficult to experience; more than once I took off my glasses to purposely obscure my vision, especially during the fallout from a chemical abortion. Nonetheless, I was glad I saw it, and even gladder it cracked the top 5 at the box office last weekend. Unplanned is a testament to the truth, and the more people know about the abortion industry, the harder it is to obscure that truth. All evil eventually comes to an end. It happened with slavery. It happened with segregation. It will happen with abortion. When the world forgets the names of Soros, Gates, and Buffet, there will still be monuments to our children lost in abortion…and those who sacrificed to save them.

This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on April 2nd, 2019.