Sarah's Choice

We watched Sarah's Choice this evening.  It was a movie that both my sister and I have been anticipating for awhile. 

The movie centers around a young woman named Sarah.  Sarah is a hard working young lady with the chance at a big promotion in her career.  She was raised in church, but has grown angry at God for the loss of her father 10 years before. She has plans for her life and a boyfriend she loves.  However, when she finds out she is pregnant she has some tough choices to make.

This movie faced the topic of abortion very responsibly.  The character Sarah faces the very real controversies that exist today.  She dealt with the push and pull in her mind and heart as well as the pressure from outside influences.  Her family, a Christian family, wanted her to keep the baby.  Her best friend wanted her to have an abortion.  Work made it clear that she would lose the promotion if she decided to have the child.  The only character in the story as unsure of what to do as she is the boyfriend, Matt.

We watch both Sarah's journey and Matt's journey as they come to terms with what they truly believe and what they truly want out of life.   The twist and probably the most fascinating part of the movie was not the "Is abortion right or wrong" message, but the reality that is shown in the life of a character that had an abortion.  The simple fact is that abortion impacts the lives of the women that had abortions.  There are emotional consequences that often aren't discussed.  These consequences can be quite traumatizing later in life.This is a Christian movie, but not in a preachy or over the top sort of way.  I was impressed with the way the movie handled women that had already had an abortion.  There wasn't judgment, but love and healing and redemption. 

I personally had a connection.  I remember being a young woman, in college, not living my life for Christ, and discovering one freezing January morning that my boyfriend and I were going to have a baby.  I never really truly considered abortion, but I do remember the fear.  That baby is now 18 years old and getting ready to graduate high school.  She wants to join ministry... despite all my mistakes and taking so long to get things right with Jesus.  She was a young teenager before I gave my life back to the God I had known as a child.  Yet her life is precious.  She is precious.   I never considered abortion because she was always a person to me, even before I even knew her name or sex or felt her move in my body.

My family and I enjoyed this movie.  It was sweet and nice.  It wasn't one that would ignite a ton of controversy.  It showed the choice Sarah made and why.  It showed a faith in God restored.  It showed consequences, not only with the pregnancy in an unmarried young woman, but the emotional toll years later in the life of a woman that had an abortion as a teenager.  Most movies don't show that side.  It was nice to show my teenage daughters that there are consequences for abortion, some of which are still there years later.  It was also nice to have a movie reaffirm our beliefs without portraying the Christians as narrow-minded and full of hate.