By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – The policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the world’s largest Baptist church organization, wants the U.S. Congress to end the alleged killing of “millions of preborn sons and daughters” by defunding Planned Parenthood, America’s biggest abortion provider.
“As you begin the important debate about budget reconciliation, we, as Southern Baptists and Christians, are making a simple request of you: defund Planned Parenthood,” says a petition by SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).
“For too long, taxpayer dollars, $700 million last year alone, have been given to this organization that profits from ending life,” stresses the petition obtained by Worthy News. “End this egregious assault on the consciences of millions of pro-life Americans that has resulted in the unconscionable loss of millions of preborn sons and daughters at the hands of this organization. It’s time to take this significant step toward establishing a true culture of life. Now is the time to defund Planned Parenthood,” it adds.
In published remarks, ERLC President Brent Leatherwood said that the effort is timely as the Congressional debate over the annual federal budget is ongoing.
He hopes that the Republican Party will use its majorities in the U.S. Congress, including the Senate and House of Representatives, to finally “defund” the abortion giant.
Leatherwood said the ERLC is pressing “pro-life senators” to rely on a procedural fast-track process called budget reconciliation. This process allows legislators to pass a budget with a simple majority instead of the typical 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
RECONCILIATION PROCESS
Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the 100-member chamber, plus a current 218-215 majority in the House of Representatives, with two vacancies.
“And with the reconciliation process beginning with a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican-controlled White House,” Leatherwood said, “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.”
As of February 19, the petition included a list of more than 50 leaders in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, including seminary presidents R. Albert Mohler Jr. and David Dockery, Charlotte, North Carolina; pastor and SBC President Clint Pressley; and Dallas-area pastor Jack Graham, a former Southern Baptist Convention president.
Leatherwood said he expects more pastors and lay people to sign the petition in the coming days. He plans to take it to Congress.
“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 stressed. “With a Republican-controlled House, Republican-controlled Senate, this is the moment to act on those historic pledges.”
While Christians are divided about involvement in politics, supporters of the petition view it as a Biblical mission to help end massive abortions.
‘PREBORN SANCTITY’
“Southern Baptists affirm the sanctity of every human life, including the preborn,” the petition notes. “Scripture testifies that every person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and that life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-16). The Baptist Faith and Message proclaims that children, from conception, are ‘a blessing and heritage from the Lord.’ As followers of Christ, we must advocate for protecting vulnerable preborn lives and oppose organizations and practices that undermine the value of life.”
It complains that “Planned Parenthood’s predatory, deceptive, and destructive practices are destroying preborn lives at the expense of the American taxpayer.”
There was no immediate reaction from the White House. Still, Vice President JD Vance says the administration of his boss, Donald J. Trump, advocates for government policies and cultural values that encourage Americans to “choose life” and “start families.”
He said last week at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, that [People need to] stop thinking about babies as inconveniences to be discarded. We’ve got to start thinking of them as blessings to cherish.”
Vance noted that the United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that had enabled nationwide abortions completely changed the abortion debate.
The latest Supreme Court move allows the will of the people to speak on the life issue” and removes it from “unelected bureaucrats” and “unelected judges.”
PRO-LIFE CULTURE
Vance suggested advancing a culture of life by supporting “pro-life” pregnancy centers, enacting policies to bring costs down, enabling people to raise families, changing perceptions about abortion, and encouraging people to choose life. “Maybe they’ll start thinking of babies as the blessings that we all know that they are,” Vance stressed.
Vance referred to President Donald Trump as the “most pro-life president in American history” for nominating three of the justices who joined the majority opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Catholic critics noted he did not address concerns about Trump’s recent executive order to expand and reduce the costs of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Critics say that in the fertility treatment procedure, human embryos “are routinely destroyed.”
In addition, Vance spoke about his Christian faith, noting Christianity is centered on the fact that “the Son of God became man, He died, and then He raised himself from the dead.”
“One lesson that flows from that is that we shouldn’t fear death,” he added. “There are much more terrible things than just losing one’s life. You could lose one’s soul.”
In addition, Vance spoke about his Christian faith, noting Christianity is centered on the fact that “the Son of God became man, He died, and then He raised himself from the dead.”
One lesson that he said “flows from that is that we shouldn’t fear death. There are much more terrible things than just losing one’s life. You could lose one’s soul.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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