Just two weeks after blowing box office expectations out of the water, the Pure Flix film, “Unplanned,” is making more waves this week after reports reveal 94 Planned Parenthood abortion clinic workers have left their jobs since seeing the movie.
The film tells the real-life story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood Clinic Director-turned pro-life advocate. After eight years of climbing the ranks at Planned Parenthood, Johnson’s entire world came crashing down around her when she was asked to assist with an abortion of a 13-week baby. She went on to leave her job and form the nonprofit, And Then There Were None, which seeks to help abortion clinic workers leave the abortion industry.
Just last week, Chuck Konzelman, the writer and director of “Unplanned,” appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution and revealed that since the movie’s release on March 29, nearly 100 abortion clinic workers have approached Johnson’s nonprofit with the intent to change their lives.
“The number of actual workers who have reached out is 94,” Konzelman revealed, estimating that this number accounts for about 1 percent of abortion clinic workers in the U.S.
“One percent of the abortion workers in the United States, after getting one look at them being portrayed on film … have decided to change their lives … and what they do for a living,” Konzelman said.
The response is evidence, Konzelman says, of the relatability of the film, which doesn’t portray abortion clinic workers as monsters.
In an interview earlier this year with Faithwire, Konzelman said “Unplanned” was made “for such a time as this,” noting the series of pro-abortion bills that have passed state houses across the U.S. in recent months.
In January, New York passed the Reproductive Health Act, which allows for abortions through the third trimester and removes protection for babies who survive failed abortions. In the weeks that followed, states like Virginia, Rhode Island and Vermont have presented similar bills which would allow abortion “at any time when necessary to protect a woman’s life or health.”
On the other side of the tension, we’ve seen lawmakers from several states promote “heartbeat bills,” which make abortion illegal after a fetal heartbeat has been detected.
We’re watching extremes unfold at each end, and amidst the debate and action, is “Unplanned” — pointing people to the truth, and letting God do the rest.
“We couldn’t have foreseen the rapid developments that are suddenly coming to a head,” Konzelman said, “but we serve a God who could, and did.”
