March 2026 Newsletter
Featured article: "Why Unplanned Contains Such a Powerful Story"
Emily Duplechin
Funny, this is the second movie review I have written for a newsletter article this year (school year, that is). Does that say something about me? Maybe. Maybe it just says I like good movies – and Unplanned is a very good movie.
I first saw Unplanned when I was thirteen. My mom took me to see it in theaters, and I enjoyed it from the very first. Did I fully understand everything I saw? No. But I did leave the theater thinking something along the lines of “This lady is a powerful witness.” Obviously, thirteen-year-old me didn’t say it in so many words, but the effect was the same.
I saw the film again a few years later, when my family and I discovered that one of our local libraries had it available. I watched it at least once by myself on the old laptop. It was at that point that I really began to grasp the power of this film, the heaviness and tragedy of abortion, and what it takes to fight. I’d always been pro-life, on some level always understood the cause, but I believe it was at this point that my passion for the fight was truly ignited.
Why is the story of Abby Johnson so powerful? Why has it lit a fire in the souls of so many? Perhaps it is because Abby has seen both sides of the story. Often, the most convincing witnesses are those who believed the lie and later found the truth. Abby was completely and totally immersed in the abortion industry, even receiving an award from Planned Parenthood in 2008. She even had two abortions herself, now mourning the children she never got to meet. But she never realized just how violent and cruel the procedure was until she was told to hold the ultrasound probe during a demonstration.
For this reason, Abby can relate to many of those who are still trapped in Planned Parenthood’s lie and help them to see the truth. Personal witness is powerful, especially when other people have had the same or similar experiences and can back you up. With so many people around the world experiencing the same things as she did, people can see that Abby’s story cannot be a mere coincidence.
Now, Abby is a passionate pro-life speaker as well as a mother of eight children. She continues to share her story in the hopes of educating pro-lifers and helping those in the abortion industry to realize what exactly they are doing, as well as helping them to leave it. For this purpose she founded And Then There Were None, which her website (abbyj.com) describes as “a ministry designed to assist abortion clinic workers in transitioning out of the industry.”
Abby Johnson has an incredible story, which the film Unplanned lays out quite well, in my own opinion. Though she has made mistakes, she has obviously learned from them, and is now using her experience to help drive the pro-life movement forward, especially with programs such as And Then There Were None. I believe we can all learn something from Abby’s story, and would encourage you to check out her website, mentioned above, as well as listen to some of her talks. I will certainly be doing the same.
Prayers
Dearest St. Joseph, at the word of an angel, you lovingly took Mary into your home. As God’s humble servant, you guided the Holy Family on the road to Bethlehem, welcomed Jesus as your own son in the shelter of a manger, and fled far from your homeland for the safety of both Mother and Child.
We praise God that as their faithful protector, you never hesitated to sacrifice for those entrusted to you. May your example inspire us also to welcome, cherish, and safeguard God’s most precious gift of life. Help us to faithfully commit ourselves to the service and defense of human life — especially where it is vulnerable or threatened. Obtain for us the grace to do the will of God in all things. Amen.
Quotes
"An abortion cannot take away the trauma of a rape; it can only add the trauma of an abortion.... Abortion is a violent and destructive, forced and premature removal of the child from the pregnant woman, with the intention of killing the child." – Lila Grace Rose, Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World
"Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life." – Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270
"I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born." – Ronald Reagan
"How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts." – Mother Theresa
Memes
News
Steven Ertelt
Steven Ertelt
Steven Ertelt
Steven Ertelt
Steven Ertelt
Upcoming Events
Rosary for Life: March 3rd @ 7pm ET
Apologetics Night: March 10th @ 7pm ET
Monthly Meeting: March 23rd @ 7pm ET
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