A few weeks ago, I went to see Unplanned, the story of Planned Parenthood clinic director, Abby Johnson, and her journey to becoming a pro-life advocate.
As far as exposure of abortion and the industry that profits from it, I thought it was well done. The movie covered the gorier aspects and consequences of abortion, and dug into Planned Parenthood's well-known-but-somehow-still-ignored practice of placing profit over the well-being of the women who visit their clinics for reproductive care.
Pro-life and sickened by abortion as I am, there was something missing for me.
Jesus.
Don't get me wrong: chunks of the film show how God created all life, His mercy and forgiveness, and even the power of prayer.
But Jesus?
Jesus and the cross were not mentioned once.
And I just wonder: how can we have a conversation about life, and not talk about Jesus, who said, "I have come that they may have life"? How can we talk about God's mercy and forgiveness, and not talk about the sacrifice of Jesus through which they are offered? How can we talk about the power of prayer, and not talk about Jesus, who makes it possible to approach "God's throne of grace"?
There is one point in the film where Abby sorrowfully admits she has been complicit in 22,000 abortions, and I wonder: where did the weight of that go?
To be fair, I haven't read the book, which, as books usually do, may go into greater detail about her healing process, and not just her extraction from Planned Parenthood. I don't know.
I do know, however, we cannot hope to have productive discourse about life, see healing from abortion (individually or culturally), or change anti-life industries and legislations without bringing it all back to Jesus.
Jesus who came to bring life, who died to bring us back to God, and who lives to empower us with His Spirit.
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