Unplanned is a Christian movie based upon the life of Abby Johnson, a clinic director of Planned Parenthood who left the organization after becoming pro-life. The movie is Rated “R” for good reason, as there are a few abortion scenes in here that are quite unsettling. It’s not exactly graphic, it’s just gross.
I’m not sure how accurate the film is, as it is told through Abby Johnson’s point-of-view, and there are always two sides to the story. I have a feeling that the abortion scene in the movie was not 100% accurate if it was a 2nd Trimester Abortion (although, it may have been a 1st Trimester abortion). During a 2nd Trimester Abortion, each limb of the baby is torn off one by one, then the skull is crushed with forceps. I have a feeling the directors chose to forgo this 50% of this
If you are interested in the exact procedure and a 2nd Trimester abortion, you can watch the video below.
Unplanned was directed extremely well. There were no boring parts, and I was always was a bit unsettled watching the entire journey of Abby Johnson. This is not a Cinderella journey and the story doesn’t portray Abby Johnson in the greatest light. She’s quite brutal, cunning, and argumentive, a flawed character. That’s quite surprising given the fact that real Abby Johnson consulted throughout the entire production. I guess she wanted to keep it real.
Now, I’ll admit, Christian movies are embarrassingly bad most of the time, even the ones that are highly rated. This was the exception to the rule. The only downfall to Unplanned was Abby’s husband, who couldn’t deliver lines to save his life.
Let’s get to the character breakdown:
ABBY JOHNSON: Type One Reformer
Abby Johnson is your stereotypical Type One Reformer who has a very strong 2-Wing. Through the first two acts of the movie, she was a staunch advocate for the pro-choice movement. Her position changed in the 3rd Act to pro-life, but she was still of the same personality type. As an important note, characters should represent true personalities, and true personalities don’t change their “home-type”, even when they change stances.
Currently, Abby Johnson runs a non-profit to help Planned Parenthood employees leave the organization if they choose to do so. That is the actions of a Typical Type One Reformer, committing to a cause greater than their own.
~if you have no idea what a Type One Personality is, click here ~
THE ABORTION DOCTOR KILLER: The Type Six Counterphobic Loyalist
During the movie, an abortion doctor is killed in a church by a Pro-Life loyalist. It is briefly mentioned, but not shown. There is no character involved here, it was just a blip on the news. But even though the killer was not represented by
Type Six Loyalists are powered by a fear of abandonment and are just looking to belong. So quite often, they join groups, meetups, churches, even the military, to create that bond that is missing in their life – that sense of family. When they are not at their best, they have a lot of trust issues and that can give birth to compulsive paranoia. Sometimes, extreme measures are taken to stop these paranoid fears, and that’s where counterphobia sneaks in.
“Phobia” is an irrational fear. “Counter” is a way to destroy. Counterphobia means destroying what you irrationally fear. Counterphobic actions could be as simple as destroying a good relationship, just by being too paranoid
LAST NOTES
Again, this was a great movie. It is biased and agenda driven, but it doesn’t dominate the movie. Despite your political stance, abortion
As a last note, I would probably say Unplanned felt like a horror movie because it did make me feel “grossed out.” I don’t usually feel that way. But there are scenes in here, that are bloody, so don’t take the kids. There were times in his movie, where I held up my hand instinctively to block the view, something I’ve never done before.
GRADE: A
UPDATE:
It has come to my attention that Planned Parenthood had accused Abby Johnson of fabricating the abortion scene that caused her to quit. They have claimed that there is no record of an ultra-sound guided abortion on that day, and no record of that said patient. The doctor who performed the procedure has said that Abby had not been asked to assist on that day. And according to the Texas Department of Health, there were no abortions performed on the date in question.
Is Abby Johnson telling the truth?
Well, as storytellers, finding the truth is very similar to rewriting a script. The more holes you fill in your story, the less your audience will complain about during the car ride home after. If you don’t fill the holes, you’ll end up with something like The Last Jedi, where gravity bombs work in space.
So why don’t we start finding the holes?
LET’S START WITH ABBY JOHNSON
Like I mentioned before in my review, Abby Johnson looks as though she is a Type One Reformer. These personalities are typically your law and order individuals, self-righteous, and compulsive do-gooders. When Abby was younger, she joined planned parenthood as part of a movement to support women’s rights. Her loyalty to the cause never wavered, despite the protest from her church, her parents, and her husband. She was never loyal to Planned Parenthood, despite being Planned Parenthood’s Employee of the year in 2008, but loyal to the strong belief that women had the right to choose.
Abby Johnson had no history of lying, no history of creating situations to financially benefit herself, and no history of breaking the law.
ONTO ACT II
One day, something changed her hardened stance. And that inciting incident, in the screenwriting world, we call it a turning point, would change her life forever.
After that inciting incident, Abby Johnson, for some reason, met with Shawn Carney, the local anti-abortion advocate soon after to seek refuge.
So we know that were an inciting incident.
That inciting incident – is what is in question.
And according to Planned Parenthood, doctors, and the Texas Board of Health, that inciting incident didn’t happen.
So, we are to believe that Abby Johnson, a harden Type One Reformist, 2008 Planned Parenthood Employee of the year, would change her stance with no incident and become a compulsive liar. And let’s not forget her parents and husband tried to change her stance for years. We are to believe she just walked into the office one day – and changed her position – casually.
That just doesn’t make any sense.
Type One Reformist don’t flip that easy. Donald Trump, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, are all Type Ones. They are stubborn argumentative people.
Something happened. And it had to be something big.
MORE QUESTIONS
There are also holes in the Texas Department of Health’s claim that doesn’t sense. If there were no scheduled abortions on the day in question, why was there an abortion doctor at the clinic on that day? And through my research, I have found abortion doctors who have said that sometimes, the decision to perform an ultrasound-guided procedure can be made on-the-spot. Which is why they may have been short-handed on that day and needed Abby to fill in.
And there are more holes.
The doctor who performed the abortion (which Texas said didn’t happen), said Abby was not there – but assisting nurses said she was.
And much of this contradicting information is found from a single memo that was released by Planned Parenthood. That is one point of view. Let’s here Abby’s rebuttal. It’s only fair.
MISDIRECTION
Planned Parenthood does not deny the brutality of the procedure. They do not deny the risk of an abortion, the complications, or the existence of a P.O.C. room. They are not denying the methodology, the squirming of the child as it is pulled apart, limb by limb. That scene is real. The practice is real.
The debate Planned Parenthood wants you to have is whether or not Johnson’s inciting incident is real. That’s a misdirect.
The agenda of UnPlanned is to reveal the practices of Planned Parenthood and the brutality of abortion. Planned Parenthood is not refuting those facts.
It honestly doesn’t matter of Abby lied. Planned Parenthood is guilty of those procedures.
FINAL CONCLUSION
Did Abby Johnson lie?
I would say most likely not. Now, I could be wrong, but right now, in my view, I am finding fewer holes in her story, and more holes in the story against her.
If she is a liar, she’s not a Type One Reformist. She could be an UnHealthy Type Three Achiever, but I’m not really seeing that. Unhealthy Achievers are your Elizabeth Holmes, Bernie Madeoffs, Billy McFarland’s, the great liars of our time who are sometimes hard to catch because they are very charismatic, but they have a track record of lying to everyone. Abby Jones is not that type of personality.
The movie is still a solid “A” for me.
UPDATE 4/08/2019:
Abby Johnson defends her position in an article you can find here.
Steve Young
