Traci DeVette Griggs | September 4, 2015 | SHARE: 
This article is Part One of a Point Of View (POV) series by NC Family exploring the inhumane practices of the abortion industry brought to light by recent undercover videos of Planned Parenthood.
For those squarely in the pro-life camp, it might be surprising to hear that, despite all the discussion surrounding recent undercover videos highlighting the inner workings of Planned Parenthood, less than half of American voters have actually seen or heard about them. Interestingly, a Fox News Poll shows that only 54 percent of pro-life voters have viewed even one of these disturbing and culturally significant videos.
In the next few weeks, members of the NC Family staff are going to explore why more pro-life supporters and especially people of faith across the nation should care about the unprecedented view these videos provide into the heart of abortion industry giant, Planned Parenthood.
“Paul” is a 25-year old, single, evangelical Christian. He considers himself strongly pro-life, but he seems to have no problem with research that uses fetal tissue from aborted babies. “If we support organ and tissue donation from people who have died, why would we not also support it in this case?” he questions. “If the abortion has already been done, it would be silly to get no benefit out of it,” Paul says.
Current federal law reflects Paul’s perspective by allowing for the use of aborted fetal tissue for research; however, there are laws against changing an abortion procedure in any way to ‘harvest’ baby tissue or organs. Federal law also prohibits the sale of tissue or organs from aborted babies for profit.
One reason these laws exist is to ensure that abortionists don’t do anything during the abortion procedure that would sacrifice the well being of the woman in order to harvest intact baby parts. It’s easy to imagine the slippery slope and potentially disastrous outcomes when profit is tied to collecting the best livers or brains or spleens.
Think of it this way: Most people would shudder at the notion of doctors receiving significant financial incentives for obtaining organs from men, women, and children. We want our doctors to have our health and well being at the top of their priority list, not potential dollar signs from the sale of our organs and other body tissue if we die. And if organ donation ever becomes necessary, we hope our health care professionals will handle any organ donations in an ethical, reverent, and dignified manner.
These are exactly the problems revealed in the series of videos being released by The Center for Medical Progress, and one of the reasons why all Americans, especially people of faith, should care. These videos show Planned Parenthood staff and executives far too eager to harvest organs and limbs from aborted babies in order to sell them, like used car parts, to “research” institutions. The undercover footage highlights the brazen and callous attitude that many of the Planned Parenthood staff have toward the woman and her aborted baby.
For the most part, Planned Parenthood has successfully convinced the public that it is an “advocate” for women in communities all over the country. However, these videos show insensitivity and greed at all levels of the organization, which incidentally, receives $528 million in taxpayer funding each year (according to the Planned Parenthood Annual Report for 2013-14).
John Rustin, president of NC Family, says this is a critical time to keep the pressure on both state and federal policymakers. “For far too long, Planned Parenthood has portrayed itself as a ‘pro-woman’ organization that places a priority on the health of women who walk into the doors of their clinics,” Rustin said. “These recent videos have peeled back the false veneer and exposed Planned Parenthood as an organization that places financial profits above the well being of women, children and families. At the very least, our elected officials in Washington, DC and in every state across this nation should act promptly to cut off taxpayer funding to this enterprise that is engaged in these inhumane actions.”
TAKE ACTION: If you have not already, please take a some time to view these videos and learn why common decency and a heart for the unborn should compel us to get involved. Your action can make a huge difference in this effort. At present, polls show Americans are evenly divided on this issue, so your voice matters more than ever. Click here to learn how you can get involved by contacting your lawmakers and sharing your perspective on social media.
