What We Must Learn from “Unplanned”

If you haven’t seen Unplanned, it is your obligation as a human to see it – particularly if you say you are Pro-life. Here’s why: there are important lessons that we need to incorporate into our own lives.

First of all, if you are on the fence about abortion, see the movie. Whenever I encounter someone who says, “Abortion isn’t for me, but I don’t have the right to tell a woman she can’t.”, I tell that person two things: “Go see an abortion and then make up your mind.” And second, “You have the obligation to give voice to a child who can’t.” Speaking on behalf of children has been my life’s work.

Here’s what we all must take away from Unplanned.

First, if you want to change someone’s mind about anything, don’t beat them over the head. Befriend that person. Who was the first person that Abby went to after she had her epiphany? The woman from Coalition for Life. This woman stood with Abby day after day, month after month. Abby knew exactly how this woman felt about her involvement with abortion but rather than repeatedly implore her to stop, the woman showed up and cared for her.

Second, we must show more concern for the unborn. I am sad to see many people of faith complacent about abortion. And if I am sad, I can only imagine God’s grief. When we do nothing about abortion, it perpetuates God’s heartache. It is abhorrent and causes tremendous pain to babies and to the girls/women who get them. But we who hate abortion sit in the background “too busy” working or running kids to soccer games, to get involved. We don’t even want to have a conversation about it because we don’t want an argument with anyone or for them to think ill of us.  If this is you, get over it. You don’t need to please anyone.

I am sad to see many people of faith complacent about abortion. And if I am sad, I can only imagine God’s grief. When we do nothing about abortion, it perpetuates God’s heartache.

Three, mass abortion is real. Because most of us don’t hear about abortion, we forget that it is happening every day. We see it as an idea or philosophy, not a reality. Don’t fall into this trap. It is real and as you will see in Unplanned, millions of children have died, millions of young women have suffered and millions more will continue to.

Fourth, abortion is not safe, even if a board-certified obstetrician is performing it. Legal abortion is a medically high-risk procedure. A woman can have a uterine rupture, contract a lethal infection, have remained fetal tissue in her uterus and hemorrhage. She can go into shock, experience future fertility problems – and those are just the beginning of the medical problems she can have. Did you notice in the movie that when one young girl went into shock (in the waiting room no less) there was no anesthesiologist to help her? In case you didn’t know, abortionists are NOT equipped to handle these complications like an anesthesiologist. That girl should have died.

Abortion is NOT safe, even if a board-certified obstetrician is performing it. Legal abortion is a medically high-risk procedure.

Many years ago, I had a 16-year-old girl come to see me after an abortion. She was bleeding profusely and needed surgical intervention. When I called the doctor who performed the abortion, he refused to see her because doing so would verify that abortion does have complications. So I called an OB/GYN who didn’t perform abortions and she didn’t want to see the girl because she didn’t want to get sued. She didn’t want to get in the middle of a mess that she hadn’t created. Finally, after many phone calls, I found someone to take care of this girl.

If you are a pro-life man or woman, wonderful. But don’t just “be” pro-life. Act on your convictions. Abortion is an abomination.  Stand up and say something. Support our Pregnancy Care Center. Support Abby Johnson’s foundation, And Then There Were None. Let your voice, behavior or money rid this country of this travesty. If Abby Johnson and prayer warriors can close one Planned Parenthood, so can we.