Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood leader who is now a highly visible pro-life advocate, has written her story, Unplanned, currently available from Tyndale House Publishers and Focus on the Family. Johnson’s book, written with Cindy Lambert, is the dramatic true account of Johnson’s decision to cross to the other side in the abortion debate.
Johnson’s decision to leave her job after eight years with Planned Parenthood, originally as a volunteer and then as an employee, came after she participated in an ultrasound-assisted abortion procedure for the first time. Her action became national news when Planned Parenthood took her to court in the fall of 2009. Unplanned reveals what Johnson initially found so attractive about the mission of Planned Parenthood and the events that caused her to suddenly quit her job.
Unplanned offers an insider’s viewpoint on Planned Parenthood’s practices and the heartfelt but misguided efforts of radical anti-abortion activists.
“So many people want to see these clinic workers as the enemy, but they are not,” Johnson comments. “The sin of abortion is the enemy. These clinic workers are good people who have just been grossly misguided by untruth. On the other side, there are people who claim to be pro-life but believe in taking the lives of abortionists and bringing harm to workers. I have been able to see the good and bad in both camps. No movement is perfect… no matter how much we like to think we are, or how much we try to be.”
Johnson credits the peaceful, respectful witness of a local pro-life ministry with her change of heart. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here today,” she says. “It is their faithfulness and perseverance that help women face the truth of abortion every day.”
Dr. Alveda C. King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has endorsed Johnson’s story, saying “Unplanned is a powerful and compelling testimony of the power of prayer and love. A story of courage, conviction, and conversion, the book will draw you into Abby’s life.”
