New HBO Max comedy ‘Unpregnant’ tries to turn abortion into a joke

A new film premiering on HBO Max aims to make a joke out of abortion, and in doing so, downplays and mocks women who have undergone abortions and the very real, painful abortion trauma they have suffered.

The storyline for “Unpregnant” follows a teenage girl who attempts to obtain an abortion for an unplanned pregnancy without her Catholic parents’ knowledge. Because the abortion laws in her home state of Missouri include the requirement for minors to obtain parental consent, she and a former friend plan an abortion road trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, so she can have the abortion there.

Parental consent laws are put in place to protect young women from abuse and sex trafficking, which are tied to abortion. Films like this one make light of the risky situation of a minor seeking a dangerous medical procedure without a parent’s knowledge, and also make light of the tragic fact that sex traffickers and abusers use these sorts of “loopholes” to their own benefit.

WARNING: This post contains a graphic image of an abortion victim.

Perhaps the writers don’t realize that a major abortion business in Albuquerque, Southwestern Women’s Options, is currently under investigation for the 2017 death of 23-year-old Keisha Atkins, who went there for a late-term abortion on her viable baby at 24 weeks. It is also a facility that profits off the sales of body parts from aborted babies, a process temporarily halted at SWO. SWO’s Albuquerque location has sent at least 35 women to the hospital for abortion injuries too severe to be handled by the staff there.

None of this is a laughing matter, yet it is presented that way. The goal of such a movie, of course, is to remove the stigma of abortion — to present it as “no big deal” — as a comical road trip between friends.

The majority of Americans support significant abortion restrictions and see abortion as a serious matter, not something to be treated lightly or comically. If late-term abortion was banned as it should be, Keisha Atkins might still be alive today.

READ: Abortion industry pushes for more minority abortions in TV and movies

Still, the filmmakers and the author of the “Unpregnant” novel seem determined to ignore all of this and turn the tragedy of abortion into a coming-of-age, funny film about teenage tomfoolery. As one of the screenwriters said, they planned to “write an abortion road trip story [to] bring some humor and make people more comfortable with the subject of abortion.” Imagine a film created to make people feel more comfortable with slavery or racism. All “Unpregnant” is is a new marketing tool for the abortion industry to win over teenagers. It’s no longer about abortion being a “right” but about abortion being seen as cool, fun, and easy. This film is leading young girls to the slaughterhouses, laughing as they go.

This sort of comedic abortion film has been tried before unsuccessfully with the abortion comedy, “Obvious Child.”

But abortion is anything but funny.

Women who chose abortion have shared heartbreaking stories of the pain they have suffered because of their decision. They have said things like, “Abortion was a dark cloud over my life,” abortion “weighs down every fiber of your being,” and “I live in my own personal hell.” One case study on the abortion pill revealed that 77% of women regretted their abortions. Even TLC member Chilli said her own abortion “broke her spirit.”

The mainstream media is catering to the abortion industry and promoting “Unpregnant” as a “heartfelt comedy about abortion,” and a “teen road movie with personality,” but they are ignoring the true faces of abortion — the broken women and their broken babies.

In response to the film, TeenProLifers has created a petition to ask HBO Max to remove “Unpregnant” from its streaming services.

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