Rob Lee, executive director of the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention and Brent Leatherwood, president of the ERLC sent a letter to Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) voicing our support for defunding Planned Parenthood. Sen. Crapo is the chair of the Senate Finance Committee which oversees healthcare funding in the United States. This committee plays a crucial role in defunding Planned Parenthood during the upcoming budget reconciliation.
It’s important for Sen. Crapo to hear from pro-life constituents as he has an opportunity in crafting language for the reconciliation bill to enable this change. We support language in the reconciliation bill that prevents government funding of abortion providers and to redirect those funds to qualified healthcare providers that protect life and provide services to mothers.
“We urge you to take decisive action through the budget reconciliation process to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund Planned Parenthood.”
“Since 2010, Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding has risen by 43%, even as its other non-abortive care has declined by 70-80%. With $2.1 billion in annual revenue and more than $2.5 billion in net assets, it is indefensible that taxpayer dollars continue to flow to an organization that profits from the destruction of innocent preborn lives.”
“Both the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, our denomination’s public policy entity, and the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention urge you to take definitive action to end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and, preferably, redirect these resources to providers that truly support women and families.”
Asking Congress to Defund Planned Parenthood
In a separate letter, Southern Baptist leaders and thousands others have added their voices to our request to Congress to defund Planned Parenthood. Will you sign your name? Visit erlc.com/defundPP to add your voice.
