Unpregnant was released on September 10 exclusively on HBO Max. The film is based on the young adult novel of the same name by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan. The story follows the main character Veronica, a Brown University-bound model student, and her ex-best friend Bailey as they take a road trip from Missouri to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the closest abortion clinic the 17-year-old Veronica could visit without parental consent is located.
The beginning of the film shows Veronica taking a pregnancy test in a bathroom at her high school, which returns positive, and the ensuing interactions she undergoes (and avoids, in the case of her Catholic parents) with Bailey and Veronica’s boyfriend Kevin. Learning that the closest abortion clinic that did not require parental consent was in Albuquerque, Veronica asks Bailey to drive her, despite their falling out as friends a few years prior.
The film makes an attempt at creating sympathy for Veronica when she tells Kevin she is pregnant, as Kevin proposes to her immediately after. It is implied that he was aware he was having sex with her with a broken condom, and planned to use the pregnancy as a way to secure a future with her.
After leaving the house for the weekend under the guise of a cram session, so as not to clue her mother into where she was going, Veronica finds Bailey. They meticulously plan their route to Albuquerque so they could make the trip in short enough time and on their tight budget.
The film does not hesitate to paint Catholic pro-lifers as “Jesus freaks”. From Veronica’s expression walking past a photo of Pope Saint John Paul II being used to create an image of her Catholic mother’s opposition to abortion, to a more intensely depicted large Catholic family they encounter in Texas, the film paints pro-lifers and Catholics in a sinister lens.
When the girls stop at a carnival in Texas, a bubbly couple, who is later revealed to be Catholic, approach them after overhearing them discussing Veronica’s abortion appointment. After the couple offers to take them to Albuquerque when Veronica says they are visiting Bailey’s dad, but actually takes them to their home, the house is portrayed similarly to a horror movie.
In the house, Bailey stumbles upon a room with pro-life signage covering most of the wall and ceiling area, which is shot in dark lighting and sinister sound effects to portray the pro-life family as villainous. Once Veronica and Bailey try to leave in the family’s van, they are pursued by the father in a mobile crisis pregnancy center vehicle.
As for the depiction of abortion itself, the explanation given by the clinic worker is presented in a way to erase any stigma about the process. When explaining that Veronica was to get a vaginal ultrasound, Veronica is told she does not have to look at it, and it is not shown on screen (probably to avoid showing a fetus in fear that it would humanize the fetus too much for the audience).
Veronica is given the option of medical abortion (i.e. the abortion pill), suggesting she is in the first trimester of pregnancy, but opts for a surgical abortion, as she could not make a follow-up visit. As a first trimester abortion, it would have been preformed via suction aspiration, which the clinic worker only describes by saying: “The doctor has a wand that he’ll insert inside you and remove the fetus.”
Aside from the extreme depiction of pro-life advocates and the refusal to acknowledge any humanity or personhood of the fetus, the film ends with a rather fair depiction of Veronica’s mother’s reaction when she flies home after revealing the purpose of her cross-country journey. Hugging Veronica, she assures her that she loves her despite her never thinking she will understand Veronica’s decision. However, this scene does not erase the overhanging air of anti-Catholic and anti-pro-life advocate energy that persists throughout the film.
Unpregnant attempts to normalize abortion to a young adult audience through a road trip adventure story and overly dramatized depictions of pro-life and/or religious people. While the story focuses mostly on the road trip itself, abortion normalization is clearly its goal.
Featured image courtesy of Warner Media
Adam is a senior from Columbus, Ohio. He previously served as Campus News and Culture Editor, and boasts the title of least cultured to ever serve as the latter. Holding a minor in Biology, he recently converted from STEM and now majors in Philosophy and Classical Studies. He currently leads Una Voce, the Latin Mass society at BC, and sings with the University Chorale of Boston College and the Chorale Chamber Singers. He enjoys Gregorian Chant, relearning the clarinet, and is an unabashed Ohio apologist.
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