The SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) has launched a campaign urging Congress to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading abortion provider.
ERLC President Brent Leatherwood explained to The Christian Post that the campaign’s strategy is to incorporate the funding cuts into the ongoing reconciliation process in Congress. This process allows measures to be passed with a simple majority in the Senate rather than the typical 60-vote threshold, and currently, Republicans hold 53 seats in the 100-seat chamber.
“Republicans have had historic commitments and made pledges that see clearly the evil that Planned Parenthood is responsible for, the millions of deaths of pre-born children, and the ways that they target vulnerable mothers,” Leatherwood stated.
“And with the reconciliation process beginning with a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican-controlled White House, we think now is the time to follow through on those commitments and fully defund Planned Parenthood so that taxpayer resources aren't going to this sort of horrific behavior and activity.”
According to Leatherwood, both leaders and prominent SBC members, past and present, intend to support the campaign by reaching out to various committees.
“We're going to be delivering that message to the House of Representatives and, in particular, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Budget Committee, to tell them that this needs to be a priority as they are saving taxpayer resources,” he explained. “With a Republican-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate, this is the moment to act on those historic pledges.”
Leatherwood underscored that the Committees are now responsible for identifying budget savings to meet their financial targets, and he proposed that it is time to eliminate the annual funding allocated to Planned Parenthood.
For decades, pro-life activists and lawmakers have attempted to stop the hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding that Planned Parenthood receives each year. Critics of the defunding efforts argue that such cuts could jeopardize women's health services.
When asked about the potential impact on non-abortion services if Planned Parenthood were defunded, Leatherwood asserted that he “would dispute the notion that Planned Parenthood provides those services in any sort of way that actually helps patients.” He believes that Planned Parenthood facilities “are about the business of ending life” and that other medical services are “not their driving concern.”
“Their driving concern is to target vulnerable mothers and end the pre-born life that is within them,” he stated. “We want to protect those mothers, and we obviously want to protect those children. And the best way for Congress to do that right now is to defund Planned Parenthood.”
