WASHINGTON, D.C., May 12, 2025 —Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, applauds recent draft legislative text out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The committee’s portion of the budget reconciliation bill includes key provisions which would strip Planned Parenthood and its affiliates of Medicaid funding.
“Southern Baptists affirm the sanctity of every human life, including the preborn,” said Leatherwood. “Scripture testifies that every person is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and that life begins at conception (Psa. 139:13-16). The Baptist Faith and Messageproclaims that children, from the moment of 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. For far too long, abortion providers like Planned Parenthood have been able to enrich themselves at the expense of millions of lives, trampling the consciences of millions of pro-life Americans. That must stop. This bill does just that and takes another step forward toward our goal of ending abortion for good.”
In February, Leatherwood wrote a national op-ed, and the ERLC led SBC leaders and pastors in calling on legislators to take concrete steps in writing a reconciliation bill that would defund Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. Since the launch of the ERLC’s campaign to defund Planned Parenthood, more than 30,000 people have signed on, adding their voices to call on Congress to take steps to stop taxpayer funding of abortion procedures.
The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest Protestant denomination with more than 12.9 million members and a network of over 46,000 cooperating churches and congregations. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBC’s ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.
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