The phrase “abortion survivor” may seem like a misnomer, but it’s not, and on March 23 moviegoers can watch a film about that very subject, inspired by a true story.
The movie, “October Baby,” chronicles a young woman’s search for the truth about her past – a past that includes discovering that her mother tried to have her aborted, only to place her for an adoption when the abortion failed. The film, though, doesn’t dwell on abortion but instead weaves the story of the main character’s past in with a romantic plot and a college road trip.
The film was made for less than $1 million – a small movie budget – but has received high marks for its production.
There are no stats on abortion survivors, but October Baby’s Jon Erwin, who directed and produced the movie with his brother Andrew, says there are more than many people would think.
“I think a lot of people find the story unbelievable, and that’s the beauty of it – it’s absolutely inspired by a true story,” Jon Erwin told Baptist Press. “I screened it one night, and a young person came up to me and said, ‘This is my story.’ And that keeps on happening.'”
The story itself was inspired by Gianna Jessen, whose story is among the first that pops up when the phrase “abortion survivor” is Googled.
“God shattered my heart over this issue,” Erwin told Baptist Press. “I honestly did not know that the words ‘abortion’ and ‘survivor’ could go together. It so shocked me and so motivated me, and the more I studied it, it so mesmerized me that I felt I had to something about it. I work in a business called entertainment, and we first have to entertain. So I thought, ‘What if we put this subject matter into a romance, into a coming-of-age story, and into a movie that will be entertaining to watch?’ By them watching it, they would be exposed to an issue and kind of be forced to think. We’re not trying to tell people what to think. We’re just trying to get them to think for themselves.”
Erwin, who attends The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., added, “In my own journey, I said I was pro-life, I’ve always been pro-life and I was raised in a Christian home. But what have I done about that? Faith without works is dead. I felt it was time to do something.”
Actress Shari Rigby also felt convicted to be part of the film, but for different reasons. The Erwins sent her the movie’s script to gauge her interest in playing the role of the birth mother, not knowing that 20 years ago she had had an abortion. Even more ironic: The birth mother in the movie works in a law firm, and Rigby was working as a paralegal in a law firm when she had her abortion. After reading the script, she called the Erwins, asking, “How did you know about my past?” But they knew nothing.
The movie, Rigby told Baptist Press, was a way for her to heal from a decision she regrets.
“I felt like it was God-ordained instantly,” she said of being chosen to play the role. “I’m a believer, and I know the promises of God and I know He can do great things with our lives. When I sat down and I started reading this script – to have something on paper that was parallel to my life, I just knew it was ordained.”
Rigby said she realizes many viewers will find the topic of abortion survival unbelievable. But she knows it’s very real. Her oldest son went to a Christian school where a teacher had adopted two children who had survived an abortion.
Erwin wants people to watch the movie without a political lens. Just like the character in the movie, he said, survivors of abortion often have medical problems for life.
“It’s a human issue,” he said. “Take away the politics, take away the stigma, and look at the person and see it through the lives of social justice. It’s absolutely real.” – BP