Fetuses struggling to survive, abortion scenes similar to bloody crime scenes, here is the content of the American film “Unplanned “, broadcast by the C8 channel Monday evening.

The Minister for Gender Equality, Elisabeth Moreno, To “firmly“condemned this Tuesday the broadcast of this anti-abortion film and considered that the channel had surrendered”guilty of the offense of obstruction“to voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion).

Read also: #LachezNousLUterus: a hashtag to claim the right to abortion

The CSA seized

Asked by AFP, the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) indicated that it had received several referrals concerning this program and announced that it was going to investigate this file.

Produced by an Evangelical Christian studio, the fiction “Unplanned“recounts the turnaround of a former American family planning executive who became an anti-abortion activist.

It had met with unexpected success when it was released in the United States in the spring of 2019 but also aroused strong criticism as to its veracity, particularly of an abortion scene showing a struggling fetus.

C8 “guilty of the offense of obstructing” abortion

By agreeing to broadcast this type of program“, C8”stands in solidarity with anti-choice movements and is guilty of the offense of obstruction condemned in our country“, estimated the Minister for Gender Equality in a press release, stressing that the film” puts forward scientific untruths and inexorably misleads the viewer into error “.

I strongly condemn the distribution of this film” who “is an abject anti-abortion propaganda tool“, underlined Elisabeth Moreno, quoted in the press release.

The announcement of the film’s broadcast on C8, a channel of the Canal + group (a subsidiary of Vivendi) controlled by businessman Vincent Bolloré, had aroused strong reactions from feminist associations.

No to hindrance, no to guilt“, also tweeted Monday evening the predecessor of Ms. Moreno in the portfolio of Gender Equality, Marlène Schiappa, now Minister Delegate for Citizenship.

A flop for the chain

According to Médiamétrie, “Unplanned“gathered an average of 304,000 viewers in front of C8, or an audience share (PDA) of 1.5%, a score much lower than that achieved by its competitor W9 with”The 12 works of Asterix“(4.8% of PDAs, averaging over a million viewers).

The offense of obstructing abortion is punishable by a fine of 30,000 euros and two years’ imprisonment.