Joss Whedon's New Short Film Shows Why Planned Parenthood Is So Important

Amidst growing talks surrounding the Trump administration's efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, supporters of the reproductive health care organization have fought back just as hard.

One of those supporters happens to be director Joss Whedon (of Avengers and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame), who has filmed a short video tribute to Planned Parenthood. Told through the situations of three different women, the short film, Unlocked, explores what a world without Planned Parenthood would look like, and what it would mean for those who rely on the organization.

The film follows the three women through varying critical moments in their lives, drawing attention to essential services that Planned Parenthood provides, such as cancer screenings, STI screenings, and birth control.

"Women's health care is so much just about women's humanity," Whedon told BuzzFeed about making the film. "It is about whether they have control over their bodies and whether they have control over their minds and their education and their decisions. It's all wrapped up."

While not everyone who relies on Planned Parenthood's services identifies as a woman, the film's message is still clear. A world without Planned Parenthood can mean a world that is significantly more difficult on the high number of low-income people who depend on it for life-saving services, such as the first woman in the video, who is in need of breast cancer screening.

Whedon may have written and directed Unlocked, but he wants to be clear that he's just here as a conduit for the voices and stories of the people he's trying to depict in it.

The director told BuzzFeed that the film "has been generated from the women of Planned Parenthood and the stories they told me."

"It's not my voice that should be the last one heard, and I would be very happy if it were not even necessary to be a part of it," he continued. "But we haven't gotten there yet."

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted to pass the American Health Care Act, which, if it makes it through the Senate, would strip Planned Parenthood of a large part of its federal funding. While it remains to be seen what exactly will happen to the organization's funding in the near future, it's clear that the fight for reproductive rights is far from over.