Skip to content ↓

Planned Parenthood: 4 Ways to Respond

We have come to a singularly important moment in the battle against abortion (which is to say, the battle for life). The stunning undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress have taken us right to the heart of the abortion industry. They have shown that Planned Parenthood is enriching themselves with the bodies of murdered babies. Not only that, but Planned Parenthood is willingly increasing the risk to the women they serve in order to enrich themselves—altering the abortion procedures to deliver intact bodies. Planned Parenthood is a business, a government-supported business, that buys and sells death.

Yesterday’s video, the fifth, is the most horrendous yet. It shows a Planned Parenthood representative discussing babies as line items, considering how she can maximize profit as she sells “the products of conception.” It continues to the lab where we see people picking through the slaughtered remains of a child, lifting up pieces, separating an arm and a leg, lifting up the intestines and lungs, considering the monetary value of each one. It is absolutely sickening, absolutely shocking, absolutely unflinching, absolutely real. It exposes the industry, shining a billion-watt light into its darkest recesses. What was meant to remain hidden has now been made plain.

Once you see this, you cannot unsee it. Once you know what happens in Planned Parenthood and a host of other clinics, you cannot unknow it. That’s true even for those of us who live on the other side of an international border. What happens in America doubtless happens in Canada, England, and everywhere else.

This is an important moment.

In the face of such overwhelming evil, it can be difficult to know what we, as individuals, can actually do. Few of us have any significant power or ability. We do not have access to the ear of the President or the front page of the Times. But we can still act.

Share

Aborted Baby HandOne small but important thing you can do is share this news. The mainstream media is largely avoiding it, but this is exactly where power has shifted in an age of social media. CNN may control what is broadcast to a few million people on the television, but we control what is shared with hundreds of millions through Facebook. Hashtag activism has been much-maligned, but it is activism nonetheless. Perhaps we have overdone Twitter and Facebook outrage in the past. But not this time. Share. Share this story through your social media channels. Use hashtags like #PPSellsBabyParts and #DefundPP. Share it widely and share it consistently.

I would focus on sharing especially well-written stories, but also the few you will find in major media outlets like the Washington Post or The Atlantic. Where the mainstream press is covering the issue, share it or like it. Don’t let it go away.

Talk

Also, talk to people about this—people in your home, your church, your school, your neighborhood, your workplace. Ask them if they have seen the videos. Ask them if they are willing to watch them.

This is a good time to arm yourself with SLED, a very helpful way of Making the Case for life. A little while ago I prepared a slideshow on the issue, and you may find it helpful.

You are free to download and adapt the slides for your own purposes. Note: The slideshow uses the font Museo Slab. It is available as a free download if you plan to use the Keynote or Powerpoint.

Contact

And, of course, you can and should contact your legislator. March for Life offers some help in that. Contact them, express your horror, and demand action.

Pray

Finally, and most importantly, pray. Pray that God would use this situation to promote the cause of life, to stop the evildoers, to save the lost, and to bring glory to his name.

As I conclude, here are some helpful articles I have collected over the past few days:

And a few books that are worth reading:


  • A La Carte (November 9)

    Christianity under the progressive gaze / Why Christians must reject the conspiratorial mind / Wise people strive to be wiser / The pro-life movement’s midterm reckoning / How evil works / Preaching in paragraphs / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Works and Wonders November 8

    Works & Wonders (November 8)

    This week’s Works & Wonders: the power of God, Nikon’s microscope photos, three Come, Thou Founts, a brain-injured musical genius, and Prepare Him Room live.

  • Weekend A La Carte (November 7)

    The Hutterites’ guide to technology / Searching for jobs, Gen Z feels like it’s staring into ‘the void’ / The gospel according to Peter (Thiel) / Scientism and the allure of control / Can science explain sparkling rivers? / What led to Christianity Today’s crisis?

  • I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I regret to inform you, dear reader, that heaven tourism is back. The genre possibly never went away entirely, but it did at least disappear from the bestseller lists for several years. Sadly, it has returned in Gabe Poirot’s 18 Days in Heaven.