Sunday, May 15, 2011

unPlanned: the dramatic true story of a former Planned Parenthood leader's eye-opening journey across the life line

by Abby Johnson, with Cindy Lambert
Tyndale House Publishers, 2010

Abby Johnson was a 19-year-old junior when she attended a volunteer fair at Texas A&M and was recruited by Planned Parenthood. Raised in a Christian home, you might think she'd be reluctant to partner with an organization known to provide abortions, but Abby believed in Planned Parenthood's stated mission of offering health care, contraceptives and counseling to women in order to reduce the number of abortions, and the talking points and semantics used by Planned Parenthood were convincing. Furthermore, she agreed that if women didn't have access to places where abortions could be performed safely, they would be forced to seek elsewhere with possibly devastating consequences.

From initial volunteer work as a part-time escort, Abby moved to part-time employment, then full-time work within the organization, eventually becoming director of a local clinic. Over a period of eight years, Abby counseled women on their choices, performed administrative duties, and supervised other employees. She married, divorced, remarried, and became a parent. Along the way, she made a number of pro-choice friends and encountered many positive pro-lifers, whose genuine care for the women Planned Parenthood served equaled or exceeded her own. Through the prayers of Coalition for Life members, church sermons and liturgy, and various experiences, God worked to reveal His heart to Abby, and to change her views on the hot topic of abortion.

This is Abby's powerful story - how she moved from a committed pro-choice perspective to working for both the rights of women and of the unborn. Well-written and captivating, I recommend it to anyone looking for a better understanding of Planned Parenthood and what they do, from someone who knows both sides and now stands with the Coalition for Life. Also for Christian readers who may not have a solid footing on the abortion debate and want to better understand the issues.

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