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 Steve Jalsevac/LifeSite

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WASHINGTON D.C. April 1, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Vice President Mike Pence tweeted his support on Monday for “Unplanned”, a movie that recounts Abby Johnson’s conversion story from Planned Parenthood manager to pro-life leader. 

The outspoken pro-life Pence tweeted: “So good to see movie theaters across the country showing Unplanned — a deeply inspiring new pro-life film based on the best-selling book by Abby Johnson.”

“More and more Americans are embracing the sanctity of life because of powerful stories like this one,” he added. 

Despite being shut out of TV advertising, having its Twitter account frozen for hours on Sunday, and being slapped with an R rating by the MPAA, Unplanned opened to $6.1 million at 1,059 cinemas across the U.S. The film received a rare A+ CinemaScore.

READ: Twitter suspends pro-life movie “Unplanned” account on opening weekend

Created by PureFlix, which produced hit Christian films such as God’s Not Dead and I Can Only Imagine, “Unplanned” was made in partnership with author Abby Johnson’s And Then There Were None and 40 Days for Life. It recounts how Johnson, who directed an abortion facility in Texas, became pro-life after witnessing an ultrasound-guided abortion and recognizing the humanity of the preborn baby. In her book and the subsequent film, details about the abortion industry are revealed. Johnson is now a mother who also works as a pro-life activist.

Johnson wrote an open letter last month to parents to explain the MPAA’s R rating for Unplanned. She explained that the movie lacks profanity, nudity, immodesty, and sex. It was at her insistence, she wrote, that the movie sought to accurate re-create sonogram images of an abortion. Johnson wrote that it was what she saw in real life on an ultrasound screen at the abortion facility where she worked that convinced her of “the humanity of the unborn.” Also, the movie had a scene about Johnson’s experience of taking an abortion pill. She wrote that the scene “shows some blood,” while she recalled that in real life she hemorrhaged so badly that she thought she was going to die. “The movie captures that without being gratuitous or gory,” she wrote, and added, “I think the producers walked that line well.”

The film received major funding from Mike Lindell (the inventor of MyPillow), an evangelical Christian. It was directed and written by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon. 

While cable channels such as Lifetime, Travel Channel, and Food Network rejected advertising the film, Fox News ran segments on the film, as did TBN. Personalities such as Franklin Graham also praised the film, inducing evangelical churches to sell out showings of the film. 

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, also showed his support for the film over the weekend by retweeting an appeal by the film producers to get the word out about Twitter’s blackout of the “Unplanned” Twitter account over the weekend.

Trump and Pence have proven time and again their commitment to the pro-life cause.

Trump has named two Supreme Court justices widely believed to share his pro-life views. He has excoriated Democrats for “aggressively pushing late-term abortion.” In foreign affairs, the Trump administration recently announced that it will build upon the so-called Mexico City policy that withholds funds from nongovernmental organizations that give money to foreign groups that perform abortions. Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Trump administration was “fully enforcing” a law that prohibits groups from using United States aid to lobby for abortion. “We will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding schemes and end-runs around our policy,”  Pompeo said. He added, “American taxpayer dollars will not be used to underwrite abortions.”

For his part, Pence has a long-standing pro-life record as a U.S. Representative and later Governor of Indiana. Politico once credited him for leading a “one-man crusade” to end funding for Planned Parenthood's abortion practices.

Related:

‘Unplanned’ filmmakers accuse Twitter of censorship: ‘someone is toying with the algorithm’

Abby Johnson explains to parents ‘Unplanned’ movie’s R rating

I was almost aborted, ‘Unplanned’ actress playing Abby Johnson tells LifeSite

WATCH: Trailer released for ‘Unplanned’ movie about Abby Johnson’s pro-life conversion