Abortion Clinic Scene in Juno

Abortion Clinic Scene from Juno




For the past two years, I have been working at Planned Parenthood as a patient escort. Every time I go and help escort women across the street, I see the rabid protesters doing all they can to humiliate the women and men going in, whether it is for an abortion, birth control, pregnancy testing or the annual gynecologist exam. One man writes down the license plate numbers of everyone going in, threatening to expose those who entered...that in itself is an invasion of privacy

....I see that the security guards have to carry a gun because of the potential of violence against the patients and staff entering. I see the sign in the staff room that reminds employees to be constantly aware of their surroundings in case of danger. Some employees actually have been threatened with violence.

....I see a huge picture of a decapitated child posing as an aborted fetus. Abortions at Planned Parenthood are no later than the 3rd month, yet the protesters have a huge picture of a "7-month," 23 inch "fetus." I dare you to find any newborn, or even a baby a couple of weeks old, larger than 20 inches. These are posted all over this residential street, along with many other deceitful and grotesque pictures.

....I hear the words whore, lesbian, murderer, sinner, going to hell, evil, disgusting, you are a terrible mother/boyfriend/husband/friend for letting her be a murderer...dancing on the graves of babies...your babies arms will be ripped off piece by piece..."see that picture of that baby? It's black like your baby would be..because you're black!" DON'T MURDER YOUR CHILD!...God will punish you...murdererwhoremurderer! Oh, and the pamphlets they give out happen to say that birth control is evil too.

...I see the faces of the women traumatized by walking past these people while trying to receive either health care, or by going through an already sad experience. Yet, neither I, nor the oldtimers, have ever seen a women change her mind. These people are more interested in humiliation than "saving the baby"

...I see that the protesters literally invade the women's personal space. They try to touch, grab, push and intimidate me and the women going in.

...I see how a woman's face crumples in the middle of the street when she sees the decapitated children and hears herself being called a whore. I've seen the anger of her loved ones when they see how terrified and dirty she has been made to feel.

...I see that the protesters literally get excited when they see a car pulling in. Like a dog sniffing out their prey.


These are experiences at family planning clinics across the United States. Imagine how shocked I was to see the abortion clinic scene in Juno, which portrays the experience in a dangerously unrealistic way. According to Linda Christensen's essay Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us Ferguson's Dont Believe the Hype, the media has a deep effect on children. While Christensen states that cartoons that have sexist and misogynistic messages, such as Popeye or Beauty and the Beast, have a negative impact on kids, Ferguson argues that when boys see black men constantly portrayed on the media as criminals, they internalize those lessons of what it means to be a black man. Therefore, teenagers may internalize the message of what the experience of teen pregnancy is.
The first thing I noticed was the complete lack of protestors. This scene had only one protestor, a young, girl with a poster of a baby, saying "all babies want to be borned." Where were all the old white men yelling at the sinner and murderer? Where were the priests and the confirmation classes praying on the rosary? Where were the decapitated toddlers, portrayed as fetuses? And most of all, where were the police officers and the escorts that all clinics had to protect patients? Even the comment about the fetus having fingernails was false. Fingernails only start to appear between 16-25 weeks and reach the fingertips around week 32. Juno was probably no more than 8 weeks pregnant. Why would a neutral movie use a blatant lie if it wasn't to demonize abortion?

The movie attempted to portray the abortion clinic as a dangerous place by asking Juno if she had any bombs or weapons, yet it failed to portray the reasoning behind such a scary question. Once inside, the abortion clinic looked dirty, scary and mismanaged. The name Women NOW connentates the stereotype of a "Angry Feminist" and the receptionist seems to seal the stereotype. The receptionist had piercing and tattoos and unprofessionally revealed to Juno that she and her boyfriend used the boysenberry flavored condoms all the while staring creepily. Once Juno sits down she feels trapped by all the noises the other women make. (All these women are alone, which is interesting, since a woman having an abortion must have someone with them to drive them home). The end of the scene is Juno leaping out of the hellhole, now free, as the lone protester yells "God thanks you for your miracle."

Once the "miracle" comes, Juno goes through no serious trauma. She cries a little, gives the baby up to the adoption mother's loving, rich, white arms then her life goes on as normal. Juno portrays an ideal of teen sexuality and its consequences rather than reality. It paints a rosy picture of teen pregnancy, all the while not mentioning much about birth control. The truth is that the consequences can be devastating, whether the teen mother chooses to keep the child, have an abortion or give it up. This is especially true for impoverished or minority women, who may not have the same support system as Juno and whose babies are much less likely to get adopted. What happens to the young woman who gives her baby up for adoption, or has an abortion, and she realizes that it's not as easy as the media portrayed?