UNPLANNED

UNPLANNED tells the true story of Abby, a young woman drawn into working for Planned Parenthood because she believes its goal is to help prevent pregnancies. Though raised in a strongly pro-life Christian home, she rises through the organization until a moment changes her understanding of what she is helping to do.

The film is extremely well made and powerful. Its structure draws you in regardless of your point of view, and its ending brings a torrent of tears. It also includes intense material involving a young woman after an abortion and Abby after taking an abortive drug, along with five obscenities.

If you are choosing for older children or adults who can process those scenes, this is worth seeing; use discernment for younger or sensitive viewers.

Abby begins volunteering for Planned Parenthood while she is a student at Texas A&M. She soon becomes an employee, helping women reach the clinic and eventually encouraging some to have abortions.

Over time, Abby rises through the organization and becomes a local office director. Then she is asked to take part in something she has never witnessed before. What she sees forces her to reconsider the work she has devoted herself to—and brings her into conflict with Planned Parenthood.

Four stars means UNPLANNED succeeds both as powerful storytelling and as deeply moving entertainment. The film is extremely well made, and its structure keeps viewers engaged regardless of their point of view.

The story builds with such force that the ending brings a torrent of tears. Its effectiveness comes from following Abby’s gradual journey from convinced Planned Parenthood worker to someone forced to confront the reality of abortion. The movie is powerful enough that, despite its difficult subject matter, the source review says everyone should see it.

UNPLANNED presents strong Christian and moral content through Abby’s journey toward a pro-life conviction. It begins with a young woman raised in a strongly pro-life Christian family, shows her being drawn into Planned Parenthood’s stated goal of preventing pregnancies, and follows her gradual involvement in abortion advocacy.

The film includes arguments from Planned Parenthood and humanist content that the movie does not condone. It also portrays abortion as involving real human consequences, including intense pain and bleeding. Abby’s transformation is presented as a moral awakening: she moves from telling herself that she is helping people to recognizing what she believes abortion does to unborn children.

The film also emphasizes that people on opposing sides should be treated more kindly, even when Abby believes they do not understand what they are saying. Its central concern is whether people will be transformed and when the killing will stop. Scripture speaks directly to God’s knowledge and care for life in the womb: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).

UNPLANNED is a heartrending, extremely well-made drama about moral awakening and the value of unborn life. Its intense abortion-related scenes and five obscenities call for discernment, but older children and adults may find its powerful story deeply affecting. WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER CHILDREN AND ADULTS.