I'm not going to attempt to parse the Planned Parenthood statement, but there are plenty of sources that point out many critical factual inaccuracies in the movie.
The main problem is:
- The purportedly true story told by Abby Johnson has been largely debunked.
Abby Johnson has been gaining notoriety in anti-abortion circles for many years, but the story she tells (that this movies is based on) doesn't appear to be true. From 'Unplanned' Anti-Abortion Movie Peddles Anti-Choice Lies:
Much of Johnson’s story is suspect. She claims that the abortion which changed her mind was of a black woman who was 13 weeks pregnant. Clinic records indicate that the only abortion that could match Johnson’s description occurred at 6 weeks—a time when it would be impossible for a developing embryo to noticeably move, let alone “struggle.” Moreover, doctors don’t typically use ultrasounds to guide abortion at such an early stage, so it’s unlikely that Johnson could have witnessed anything at all.
A Texas Monthly investigation found that Johnson’s Facebook postings around the time of her departure suggest a frustrated and disgruntled employee—not one who was questioning the morality of her work. After leaving her job, she emphasized on Facebook how committed she was to her work. Her resignation letter to Planned Parenthood raises no ethical issues, mentions no change of heart.
There is little evidence to support Johnson’s story. There’s also plenty of reason for Johnson to lie, given that an abortion change of heart story is a fast route to fame, notoriety, and potentially money on the far right.
Here is the 2010 Texas Monthly article referenced above that contains a much deeper critical analysis of Johnson's story.
Regarding the medical and business details, the Huffington Post talked to Michigan OB-GYN and abortion provider Jen Villavicencio, who identified a number of other inaccuracies:
- The movie unrealistically depicts a 13-week fetus struggling against an abortion
There have been questions raised about whether this abortion even took place. But in any case, Villavicencio, who performs similar abortions, said the scene is wildly unrealistic. At that gestational age, fetuses do not have purposeful movements, she said.
“The idea that a fetus would recoil or show fear or try to run away from a cannula [medical tube] is really a frank falsehood,” she said. “All the evidence says that is not possible.”
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a fetus does not have the physiological capacity to perceive pain until at least 24 weeks of gestation.
- Planned Parenthood is falsely depicted as a for-profit abortion business.
Abby boasts about how good she got at “selling abortions,” comparing her job to that of a salesman hawking timeshares. Women are frequently shown handing over money. In one scene, Abby’s boss, Cheryl (Robia Scott), the clear villain of the movie, tells Abby she needs to double the abortions her clinic provides so they can make more money.
Planned Parenthood disputed this characterization in a statement to HuffPost, noting that it is a nonprofit that provides sexual and reproductive health care to millions of people across the country each year, many in underserved communities. The organization offers a wide breadth of services, including cancer screening, contraception and STD testing and treatment. Abortion makes up only 3.4 percent of its services, according to its most recent annual report.
“This idea that we would drum up business is silly,” Villavicencio said. “That’s not a thing. Abortion has existed since we knew what pregnancy was, and it will not go away.”
- Abortions are sensationalized like a horror movie
While everyone’s abortion is different, “Unplanned” presents the experience as an excruciatingly painful one. Women are seen crying out while insensitive doctors and nurses bark at them and hold them down. Blood ― pooling in socks, dripping on floors ― is a central motif.
The movie gives an inaccurate and fearmongering depiction of the procedure, Villavicencio said.
- Abortion is inaccurately depicted as extremely dangerous
In “Unplanned,” a doctor accidentally perforates a teen girl’s uterus while performing an abortion. As the girl goes into shock, the clinic workers decide not to call an ambulance because they’re afraid of bad publicity. Instead, they lie to her father and give her drugs so she won’t remember what happened.
In reality, serious complications during abortion are rare, and occur less frequently than during childbirth. In 2013, a total of 664,435 abortions were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only four women died as a result of complications that year.
“Abortion is one of the safest outpatient procedures that you can have in the U.S.,” Villavicencio said. “You are less likely to have a complication than a colonoscopy or a wisdom tooth extraction.”
She said it was comically offensive to suggest that an abortion clinic would jeopardize a patient’s safety by refusing to call an ambulance during a medical emergency.
- Abortion clinicians are portrayed as villains and monsters
The abortion providers and staff in “Unplanned” are depicted as uncaring and inhumane. They crack jokes about dead babies, ignore patients who are visibly in pain and seem to lack even the most basic social manners....
Villavicencio said she has had the opposite experience working at abortion clinics.
“OB-GYNs and family medicine doctors who do abortions are some of the most compassionate, empathetic people I’ve ever met,” she said. “They put themselves through discomfort ― walking through protesters, getting threats, having sometimes the disdain of their own medical community ― in order to provide this care.”
Other sources:
