A team from the Christian film is among those at a major pro-life demonstration in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
Thousands turned out today in Times Square to show their support for life. Billed as "Alive from New York," the demonstration was put on by the Christian organization Focus on the Family, but the Unplanned crew took center stage. Not only does the film have a billboard flashing every five minutes on the Nasdaq Tower, but lead actress, and committed Believer, Ashley Bratcher and the woman behind the movie, Abby Johnson, were on hand for the event.
Johnson is a former abortion clinic director-turned-right-to-life-activist and her memoir is the basis of the film. In addition to now having a ministry dedicated to helping others leave the abortion business as she did, Johnson's the mother of seven and is currently pregnant with her eighth baby! And that unborn child was the star of the show today in New York.
Johnson played a 4D ultrasound of the baby from the stage, amplifying the heartbeat for all to hear. That drew cheers from the pro-life crowd. Then, patting her visibly enlarged midsection, she drove home the point by sharing this truth over the sound system.
"This is a human being with a heartbeat, with its own DNA that is separate from my body, and this baby deserves to live."
Organizers of the event chose today's location because of an extremist law passed recently in the state of New York that allows for an abortion up the very instant before the birth of the baby.
Johnson and the filmmakers behind Unplanned - the writer/director team of Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon - hope their film will help to turn the tide against pro-abortion forces, making the killing of innocents in America "unthinkable," as she put it. And as we wrote here and here, it does, indeed, seem to be having a positive impact.
Now in its sixth week in release, the movie has performed well at the box office, too, bringing in nearly $18 million in revenue against a production budget of $6 million. It is dropping theaters rapidly, however, as it moves closer to the end of its theatrical run, so if you haven't seen it yet, don't put it off.