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Loved to the Other
Side of the Fence A Review of "Unplanned," by Abby Johnson Part Two of Four By Elizabeth Spillman
Abby takes us through her journey from the day she first volunteered for Planned Parenthood in 2001 as a college student, through her moves up the ranks of the organization, through the aftermath of her resignation in the fall of 2009. She also talks about her own two abortions. Her decision to resign, as she reveals in the book, was the culmination of several years of growing discontent with Planned Parenthood, coupled with her own spiritual transformation. These two themes are interwoven throughout the book. The catalyst for Abby's decision to resign is now a quite well known story. Although an administrator, she was asked to assist in an ultrasound-guided abortion at the clinic she ran. What she saw on the ultrasound screen during that abortion of a 13-week-old unborn child horrified her. The book opens with a very vivid retelling of this transformational moment in Abby's life. She then goes back and lays out her life experiences that eventually led to that life-altering decision. Along the way readers are given an insider's perspective of Planned Parenthood's operations , very troubling, but not surprising to those involved in pro-life work. We see how they recruit young, idealistic volunteers by capitalizing on their desire to help women in crisis and their mistaken belief that PPFA was actually interested in reducing the number of abortions. We see, that despite that often repeated line, at the upper levels of the organization, leadership heavily promoted abortion and very much relied on the enormous revenue that it brings. If there was a tipping point for Abby, it clearly was when this became unmistakable. Abby writes that Planned Parenthood was putting pressure on clinics to increase their quota of surgical abortions and was beginning to invest heavily in chemically-induced (RU-486) abortions. Abby was particularly rattled by the impending combination of chemically-induced abortions and "web-cam" medicine. As Abby told Tim Drake of the National Catholic Register, in this situation, "the patient had no contact with a physician. This was disturbing to me because there are many possible complications. I had lived through nearly every complication with my second abortion, so I was nervous about these women who were choosing this without any physician counsel." Abby was also " involved in the Consortium of Abortion Providers, a sub-group under Planned Parenthood," as she told Drake. "They would use a map of the U.S. with dots to show all of the Planned Parenthood facilities. Let's say that all of the non-abortion providing Planned Parenthood centers had green dots, and all of those that provided abortion had red dots. Their specific goal was to turn every green dot into a red dot. They wanted to expand every non-abortion providing Planned Parenthood into an abortion providing Planned Parenthood." Abby began to see the writing on the wall--their behavior was completely at odds with their stated mission, as a nonprofit, to help women, especially low-income women. It is very revealing to see, once Abby decided she could no longer work for PPFA, how far the organization would go to try to ensure that Abby was never able to tell her story. Abby challenges readers to remember that, while they are clearly misguided, many Planned Parenthood volunteers and employees do sincerely want to help women going through difficult times. In unPlanned , Abby also talks about the fence that surrounded her Bryan, Texas clinic, the pro-lifers outside the fence, and how those on either side of the fence interacted. The fence becomes a recurring theme throughout the book. She even describes her journey out of Planned Parenthood to the pro-life community in these terms as being "loved from one side onto the other." The years of patient encouragement, love, and prayer from the men and women on the other side of the fence played a key role in her transformation. Abby's story is one that needs to be told and retold. There is much that we can learn from her experiences. America needs to know what goes on at Planned Parenthood, and unPlanned offers the perfect avenue to help do that. While her story does have some difficult aspects to it, in the end it is an encouraging story in which Abby stands as a testament to how prayer and compassion can change hearts and transforms lives. Let us be encouraged that if a Planned Parenthood Clinic director, no less, can come to the other side of the fence and stand for life, then we are making a significant difference. Let us continue our work so that Abby's hope that "many more thousands will be loved into truth" will soon become a reality. Encourage your friends and family to read this book, even those who don't identify themselves as pro-life. You never know whose life will be saved or whose heart will be changed because of Abby's story. Elizabeth Spillman is an assistant in the NRL Political Action Committee. |
When
a young woman from a small town resigned her position as
director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas,
a little over a year ago, it captured the attention of
the nation. This brave woman, Abby Johnson, now shares
her heartbreaking yet inspiring story in her new book,
unPlanned.