Man Who Portrays Abortion Doctor in 'Unplanned' Former Abortionist Turned Pro-Life Activist
Dr. Anthony Levatino — who portrayed an abortion doctor in the newly released film “Unplanned’ — is a gynecologist who performed over 1,200 abortions early in his career before having a stunning change of heart that led him to become a pro-life activist.
“Unplanned” tells the real-life story of Abby Johnson, a former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic who has become an influential pro-life advocate. Johnson left her position after witnessing a baby struggling in the womb during an ultrasound-guided abortion.
Levatino recently told the podcast “The Billy and Justin Show” that he was pro-choice in the 1970s and into the early 1980s while a medical student and into the first years of his medical practice, according to “Unplanned’s” distributor Pure Flix.
The physician’s transformation began when he and his wife were having difficulty conceiving, so they started the adoption process.
Levatino recalled the irony of the couple diligently trying to adopt a baby while he was engaged in aborting unborn children.
They finally succeeded in adopting a child, and he continued to perform abortions until tragedy struck the young family.
“Our daughter, Heather, who we had adopted, was two months shy of her sixth birthday when she was struck and killed by a car out in front of our home,” Levatino said.
As he recounted during congressional testimony, Heather died in his arms in the back of an ambulance. The experience shook Levatino to his core.
After returning to work, the doctor became physically ill while performing a second-trimester abortion.
“I soldiered on and finished that abortion … (but) after over 1,200 abortions, first- and second-trimesters up to 24 weeks … For the first time in my life, I really looked… and I didn’t see her wonderful right to choose and I didn’t see all the money I just made. All I could see was somebody’s son or daughter,” he said.
A few months later, Levatino decided to stop performing second-trimester abortions. Not long thereafter, he stopped performing abortions altogether.
Since that time, he has become a strong pro-life advocate.
Watch Levatino’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Oct 8, 2015, where he described in detail what a second-trimester abortion entails.
As with Levatino, the subject matter of “Unplanned” hits close to home for the film’s lead actress Ashley Bratcher.
She told Fox News in December that she learned after taking the part in the movie that her mother had nearly aborted her.
Bratcher’s mom shared with her that she was at the clinic and on the table, but when a pregnant nurse came to examine her, the future film’s star’s mother became sick to her stomach and got up and walked out.
“I chose you,” she told her daughter.
“It blows my mind that I never knew that about myself until after I had stepped into this role to play Abby Johnson, and tell one of the greatest pro-life stories of all time,” Bratcher said.
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