Caren Spruch’s job at Planned Parenthood is rather simple: to influence Americans about abortion through films and television series. Writer-Director Gillian Robespierre calls her, “Planned Parenthood’s secret weapon.” She does this by reviewing scripts and often rewriting scenes in order to make sure that abortion is being portrayed in accordance with Planned Parenthood’s propaganda.
There have been a couple of articles recently about the continued influence of abortion in the entertainment industry. According to Spruch, the game-changing moment happened when she assisted with the script for the film the Obvious Child, which is about a stand-up comedian, played by Jenny Slade, who found herself pregnant after a one-night stand. Slade’s character decides to have an abortion and supposedly “never questions her decision, nor does she feel bad about it.” Ironically, she ends up developing a connection with the man who is the father of her child—however, the decision to have an abortion is never in doubt nor does Slade’s character consider how a child could fit into this budding relationship. The man even admits his desire to one day be a grandfather, which is part of the reason why Slade’s character avoids telling him about the pregnancy for most of the movie.
Film critic Kyle Smith described the film as simply “a bad rom-com” and when writing about Slade’s character he said, “I pitied her, and pity is death to comedy.”
The rest of the entertainment industry has seemingly followed suit. From Shonda Rhimes-led shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal to the Hulu show Shrill, abortion has seemingly infected a variety of television series and some films. Instead of showing the painthat an abortion decision can cause or the blessings of raising a child, most of the time producers and writers are trying to show abortion in a positive light and a decision with little or no consequence.
In addition to producers, writers and directors calling on Spruch to review and edit their scripts to add her abortion and Planned Parenthood expertise, she also goes to industry events and tries to pitch stories to receptive creators in the entertainment industry about abortion. According to Planned Parenthood estimates, the abortion business has assisted on more than 150 movies and television shows since the Obvious Child.
Spruch argues that she only deals with the “facts” of the situation and doesn’t “impose an ideological purity test.” A weird stipulation that isn’t true. Planned Parenthood’s interest remains abortion, more specifically abortion on demand. Showing the emotional complications of abortion isn’t high on the priority list. After all, abortion is supposedly “safe” and that there shouldn’t be any emotional fallout or physical complications. These abortion situations portrayed on television and in some films are meant to influence young women into believing that abortion can be a good and responsible decision. That isn’t true, but it’s hard to prove.
The research around abortion remains severely biased and deeply flawed. Most studies claim that the effect of abortion on women is minimal, but the research is usually funded or conducted by people engaged in the abortion industry and often even Planned Parenthood employees. Decent research is usually found only in European studies, where abortion is not really a politically divisive issue. Thorough and unbiased research usually finds that women experience “regret and guilt, distress and anxiety, and grief, loss, emptiness and suffering” shortly after an abortion. In a study on the long term effects, researchers found that women could suffer from depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies and some admitted using substances like alcohol and drugs in the years after an abortion. Some researchers have come to believe that some women experience something called Post Abortion Stress Syndrome or PASS, a trauma similar to PTSD.
Those incredibly real complications don’t fit the Hollywood narrative on abortion. To not show that is propaganda, and Planned Parenthood shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind its supposed “facts” to promote a dangerous agenda. What they are pushing in the entertainment industry potentially gives them an avenue to impact an entire generation of young men and women, which is what they want.
The LGBT community has been highly successful at desensitizing Americans to a homosexual or transgender lifestyle. Hollywood’s successful campaign is part of the reason gay marriage is now legal in the states, but luckily Spruch’s efforts will likely be less fruitful. A lifestyle is not the same as causing the intentional death of a preborn baby. The reality of abortion cannot be hidden on the small or big screen. Films like Unplanned and Gosnell, which are both pro-life films, have seen to that.
That won’t stop Spruch or her supporters, but perhaps a lack of viewership would help. The Emmy’s had abysmally low ratings this year, despite some major nominees. Maybe part of the reason is that Americans are tired of the pro-abortion and pro-LGBT agenda. I know I am.
