For an abortion journey, all a 17-year-old girl need is determination

When it comes to abortion, we always hear too many people's opinions from their different positions. But sometimes, the person who makes the final decision just needs to listen to her heart. This film is a feminist film of HBO Max which was released in 2020 for young people, of which the title is Unpregnant.

Attention, there are spoilers below. Please click like and follow first if you mind, and watch the video after watching the film!

The atmosphere of the film is very relaxing, and the narrative mode is a typical American road movie. The two protagonists, each with their own thoughts, drive a broken car, with a deserted road behind them. After experiencing many difficulties, the relationship between the two has been sublimated, and they have their respective salvation. By now, which movie has come to your mind? Transamerica? Thelma & Louise? Indeed, road movies may really make people keep watching them for countless times. Well, what's new in this film?

The story takes place in 2020. At that time, Mississippi state allowed abortions for minors, provided that they had parental permission. 17-year-old Veronica is a model student in the school. She is not only good in academic performance, but also very popular. But she unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Thinking about it now, I still miss that era. At least these girls, as long as they pay the price of being scolded, can have legal abortions.

The world of high school students is always full of endless gossip. A pregnancy test stick that shows positive is found by classmates from the garbage. Suddenly, "Guess who is the owner of the pregnancy test stick" becomes the hottest topic in the school. These students are really bored. I wonder if they can find the answer. Veronica's boyfriend Kevin is from a wealthy family. After he hears the school's rumors, he prepares a diamond ring and proposes to Veronica.

Can you tell me why he prepares like this? Veronica also has the same doubt. So, Kevin confesses truthfully. In fact, he knew that the condom was broken when they made love, but he didn't say it. Wow, he is really a good boyfriend who is willing to take responsibility. Veronica could have taken after pills. The wretched boyfriend gets her so mad that she walks away with the diamond ring.

She doesn't want to tell her parents the news, so she has to travel more than 1,000 miles to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for an abortion surgery. Veronica's former good friend Bailey accidentally knows that she has taken a pregnancy test, so Veronica asks Bailey to be her driver. In fact, it might just because she needs a car and a driver. Bailey doesn't want to go, but if she could go on vacation in Albuquerque for a few days, it would be nice, so she agrees to the request and tells a very meaningful joke.

V: I thought you drove a camry.

B:Sleater-Camry' in the shop.

V:My gas projections were accounting for a four-cylinder Japanese engine.

B:My bad. If we're worried about gas, we should just take the Tesla.

Then their road trip officially begins. In the style of a typical road movie, they would sing and listen to the radio in the car, and then encounter difficulties outside the car. The first stop for the two is a pawnshop. The pawnshop owner has the eyes of an eagle, and from a certain point of view, she looks like an eagle. Veronica takes out the diamond ring. But the pawnshop owner refuses to take the ring when she learns that Veronica is underage. Just as the two are about to argue, Kevin, who has been following her, suddenly appears at the pawnshop. This really corresponds to what Bailey says that he is a stalker. When he finds that the diamond ring is being held by the boss, he rushes to the boss to grab the diamond ring, but how could the boss allow him to take away the ring? She raises the shotgun and aims it at the tall Kevin. The young man flees. The boss eventually accepts the diamond ring and give her $1,300. I have to say that Kevin’s family is really rich. He has two second-hand off-dirt bikes and can buy a diamond ring, which can be pawned at a pawnshop for $1,300.

It can be regarded that the difficulty at the first stop is smoothly solved. Then they come to the second stop, a gas station store. Bailey buys two identical mixed drinks, just like when they were good friends before. It is very late. They find an open space and just sleep there. The two recall their childhood days. These two little actresses look like them very much. They are almost like their younger sisters.

The sun rises. The car is driven into Texas, and the two come to the third stop, a fast food restaurant. A black boy approaches them to chat with them. But Bailey is wary and ignores him. After all, in an unfamiliar place, what if they meet someone with bad intentions? However, police officers arrive before the boy do anything. Bailey looks flustered. Because the car is actually owned by her mother's boyfriend. The boy on the side watches them. When he finds that there's something wrong, he sings the national anthem to help them out. The girls escape, but the vehicle is gone. The boy is a good guy. His friend Matthews, who races cars at the fairgrounds, lives in Albuquerque, and he agrees to take them to the amusement park.

The youngsters in the car throw the joy of youth into the sky. At the dreamy sunset, they come to the fourth stop, the fairgrounds. It turns out that Matthews is a girl whose smile is very charming. Bailey falls in love with her at first sight, experiencing her first kiss. Veronica is very happy to share this secret with her. But Bailey doesn't care, because she has come out long ago, but as their friendship has been broken for too many years, Veronica didn't know it. The Slinger of the fairgrounds has become the space for them to be unbridled.

B: The first time I masturbated was to Emma Watson in Deathly Hallows.

V: Part one or part two?

B: Part one, obviously!

They drive to Albuquerque all the way, and Bailey falls in love by the way. What a happy journey! However, to my surprise, they do not travel with Matthews. Instead, they accept a warm invitation from a couple. How could someone be so enthusiastic about offering others for a free ride? So, needless to say, you can also guess out that the fifth stop they are about to must be the weird home of this couple.

In my opinion, this couple might be a couple believing in cult. They are very likely to deceive young girls to their house and burn them to death when the cultists gather. Before the trip, the two girls really should check the news to see if there has been any mysterious disappearance recently.

Driven by curiosity, Bailey peeks into the house very indiscreetly. Fortunately, the couple are just anti-abortion fanatics. They not only have given birth to a lot of children themselves, but also threaten others not to have abortions. Even, they peek at Veronica's phone and talk to Kevin.

The girls become aware of the danger. They drive away, and the husband of the couple chases after them. A student version of Thelma & Louise is being staged on the wasteland.

B: Let's keep going.

The two jump out of the car wisely, and get rid of the chase of the husband of the couple. But the hope of arriving at the destination early is broken once again with the car that falls into the bottom of the valley.

Then, they think of picking up a train. There is no doubt that they fail. Watching the train speeding by and standing on the train tracks, Veronica lets out a roar that tortures her soul.

V: Why in the hell do you need to get parental consent to have an abortion, but not to actually birth a human child? Fuck you, Missouri State Legislature!

According to the routine of general road movies, an outbreak means a new beginning. The same goes for them, because they reach their sixth stop near the tracks -- a closed bus station and a closed limo rental store. After Veronica frantically slams on the door, an old hippie comes out. The embarrassment of the two girls and the payment of $600 makes him their limo driver.

BOB: Mitch is a decoy. Name is Bob.

Do they know that this ferocious driver is the big drug lord of the drug empire?

But just now, only Veronica breaks out. The relationship between the two has not yet entered a new stage. Time is running out, they have to solve the conflict between them . For example, the school's "unsolved case" is solved, and the students deduce that the person who was pregnant is Bailey, who is dissocial in character. Veronica doesn't tell them the truth, and she doesn't even speak for Bailey. The phone call completely annoys Bailey. She cannot stand the person who pretends to be perfect in front of her. She is willing to drive for her friend and accompany her to have an abortion, but she doesn't expect to be regarded as a driver and escort. She leaves her.

Veronica and Bob continue the rest of the journey. At a gas station store, she learns that a girl has just bought the same mixed drink as hers. That must be Bailey! Veronica remembers that in the crazy couple’s car, Bailey said she came to Albuquerque to see her father. Veronica turns the navigation on and gets to their seventh stop, the flower shop of Bailey's father. Obviously, he doesn't welcome his daughter, not because she is not lovely, but because he didn't want any child originally. To give birth to the child is the idea of Bailey's mother. When the relationship between the two persons worn down, the kid just becomes his burden.

The girls leave the flower shop in disappointment. Bailey's father who didn't love her gave her an unhappy childhood, and when her parents divorced, Veronica was having her sweet 14 party. Bailey secretly drank wine and vomited on the carrot cake of Veronica. The two good friends had thus become silent strangers. The indifference of Bailey's father at this time unexpectedly unties the knot in their mind.

With understanding, the girls who set out again, come to their eighth stop, which is also the final stop of the film: the clinic. After all the hardships, they finally reach their destination. Can Veronica have an abortion? Of course not.

Kevin shows up at this time. He threatens Veronica that he would tell the whole school if she has an abortion that she is the owner of the mysterious pregnancy test kit. Shameless like this, Kevin is so discussing, just an ordinary man. Veronica's attitude, after suffering hardships along the way, becomes more determined. She's going to have an abortion, no matter what Kevin does.

Compared with the road to abortion, the difficulty of abortion is not worth mentioning. In the clinic with bright windows, the sun shines on every woman's face. Without tension and pressure, they all smile and feel relieved. Veronica goes back to school and graciously admits her abortion. This is the end of the story.

The film didn't give rise to too much response at that time. But recently, Americans who think they can lead the world have left behind the liberty and democracy they've been pursuing for more than two hundred years. The U.S. Supreme Court has become a joke around the world. This film, produced just two years ago, has overnight become the historical proof that abortion rights had ever been protected.

Compared with the judgment on abortion rights in many Latin American countries, such as Brazil, this decision of the United States is just not as civilized and advanced as that in Europe. The U.S. is nothing but a sanctimonious country, and the Supreme Court still allows the states to make their own decisions. This reminds me of the appalling news in Brazil, an 11-year-old girl was raped and was then taken by her mother to a clinic for a legal abortion, but the clinic refused to perform an abortion for her. The girl's mother appealed to the court, but the judge asked the 11-year-old girl if she would like to be pregnant for another two weeks so that the fetus could be born more safely.

The news caused an uproar in Brazil and even around the world. We are angry and panicked. We are angry that when the Brazilian people are doing what the law regulates, the Brazilian judges put their powers above the law to limit people's rights for what they deserve. We are panicking that this is not an individual case. The whole world has changed, with economic downturns, political chaos, viruses, and wars terrifying everyone. People are too busy to take care of themselves, and human rights are like a gleaming wave in the sea.

At this point, I am very sad, and I believe you are also sad. If you have anything to say, just leave me a message. I want to hear your voice.