Unplanned

Album: Unplanned (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Matthew West wrote this song for the 2019 pro-life film Unplanned. The movie tells the story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, who became an anti-abortion activist.
  • West told NewReleaseToday it was his producer friend Joe Knopp who asked him to write a title song for the movie. He read the script and came up with the idea that "as long as my God holds the world in his hands, I know that there's no such thing as unplanned."

    West added that he wrote the tune "thinking about the first moments I held both of my daughters after they were born. Counting fingers and toes, being amazed by the beautiful child in my arms. I just remember the overwhelming sense that I was holding a miracle. I carried that picture into this song."
  • The Unplanned motion picture generated a huge amount of criticism. The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck accused the film of being "proselytizing agitprop" and some TV channels refused to air ads for the movie. West was aware that writing a song for such a controversial film would lead to condemnation from some circles, but he wanted to "stand up for what I believe in." Said West: "Writing this song was a way for me to do that."

Comments: 3

  • A Survivor@Not An Accident: Your testimony touched my heart. My mother was offered money twice to abort me. Living in poverty with an alcoholic husband, my mother didn't appear to have to means to support a baby, so her boss and her mother offered her money to abort me. My mother was forced to have an abortion when she was younger by her grandmother and mother. It broke my mom's heart, and she still wakes up crying from nightmares about the abortion. Therefore, when she was an adult and pregnant with me, she was appalled at even the suggestion of aborting me. Till this day, she thanks God every day that she didn't abort me, and so do I :)

    The Declaration of Independence states that we are all endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, one of which is LIFE. Babies are people too, with rights. Choose life.
  • Someone Who Truly Cares from The Lost City Of AvalonDonate to Lilith Fund. Woman Deserve a Choice. We deserve to respect and protect each other.
  • Not An AccidentThis song has influenced me so much, and helped me believe that I was not an accident, that God created me for a purpose, and that He can redeem my story. It touched me in a most desperate place in my life, and it felt as though God was speaking directly to me through this song. My birth mother didn't intend to have me, and that resulting in her being unable to care for me and my brother, so we ended up in foster care. Over the years, it weighed on me, and I began to believe that I was an accident. But this song, and the Lord helped me believe that I was created for a purpose, it is a truly wonderful song, I have cried so much to it because every time I hear it, it touches a part of my heart that people haven't seen. I would recommend this song to anybody who has ever felt like I did and who needs hope.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Todd Rundgren

Todd RundgrenSongwriter Interviews

Todd Rundgren explains why he avoids "Hello It's Me," and what it was like producing Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album.

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.

The Evolution of "Ophelia"

The Evolution of "Ophelia"Song Writing

How five songs portray Shakespeare's character Ophelia.

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.