By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--March 18, 2019
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How many church goers filling Sunday pews at the United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Episcopal Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) and Unity Church realize that their pastors publicly stated their support of the abortion chain Planned Parenthood twice in the past two years?
How many parents still take their babies to these pastors for Holy Baptism?"As clergy and as women, we oppose any action by the Iowa Legislature to restrict a woman's ability to make her own health care and reproductive decisions or to access health care services," they wrote. "In February, the Iowa Senate passed Senate File 2 to defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups in the state. The legislation would direct taxpayer funding to federally qualified health centers that provide more comprehensive health care but not abortions. The bill currently is being considered in the state House. "In their letter, the pastors described the bill as "dangerous" and "extreme" legislation that "threatens access to basic health care for low-income women." "They also claimed that legislators' opposition to abortion is purely religious. They wrote:"All arguments against a woman's reproductive choices are based in morality and religious beliefs, using those religious beliefs to change the law and infringe upon the rights of women. Through our faiths, we are joining together to balance those arguments and to assure legislators that the religious community does not speak with one voice."
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"As clergy and as women, we know that women are well equipped to make their own health care decisions. We also believe that this bill is a matter of legislating inequality and will deny low-income women access to quality family planning services."As LifeNews points out, "Their letter makes a number of assumptions that are not true, one being that the pro-life position is entirely a religious one. While Christians make up a large part of the movement, there also are quite a few secular pro-lifers.
"Data also does not back up their claim that women will lose access to health care if Planned Parenthood is defunded. "As previously reported, supporters of Senate File 2 contend that Iowa "women will have access to 221 clinics statewide that will expand coverage to rural women who must now make long drives to urban areas for family planning services." "Women can find much more comprehensive health care at community health clinics. The non-abortion services that Planned Parenthood provides are very limited. For example, Planned Parenthoods do not provide mammograms and very few provide prenatal care; and those that provide ultrasounds appear to do so only for abortion purposes.
"Data from the abortion group's own reports show a growing focus on abortions and a continuous decrease in its non-abortion services. From 2009 to 2014, "cancer screenings" dropped from 1,830,811 to just 682,208. "Breast exams/breast care" fell by more than half, from 830,312 in 2009 to 363,803 in 2014 and Pap smear tests dropped nearly two-thirds, from 904,820 to 271,539. In that same time period, Planned Parenthood's abortion numbers remained steady, hovering around 320,000 per year. "Iowa is one of a number of states that are moving to defund the abortion group. "President Donald Trump recently offered Planned Parenthood a deal that would have allowed it to keep receiving tax money if it stopped doing abortions. Planned Parenthood refused."Nor is the Wednesday letter the Iowa women clergy wrote praising Planned Parenthood their first. The same group echoed the words of Planned President Cecile Richards in describing the services the abortion provides as "vital" in 2017. "In a column at the Des Moines Register, the seven women said, "Planned Parenthood of the Heartland plays a vital role in ensuring quality services for" low-income women seeking family planning services. (Breitbart, March 23, 2017)
"Family planning services program funds distributed in accordance with this section shall not be used for direct or indirect costs, including but not limited to administrative costs or expenses, overhead, employee salaries, rent, and telephone and other utility costs, related to providing abortions as specified... "The bill, however, would redirect funding from abortion facilities such as Planned Parenthood to other federal and community healthcare centers that provide more comprehensive care. "Federally qualified healthcare centers, for example, provide more services to low-income families than Planned Parenthood does. Nationally, there are 13,000 FQHCs--a figure that outnumbers Planned Parenthood facilities 20 to 1. Eight FQHCs, for example, are located within ten miles of Des Moines. "Despite the overwhelming number of FQHCs, however, the abortion lobby and their allies--such as these clergy women--claim that by redirecting funding away from Planned Parenthood, states are preventing low-income individuals from accessing health care."Congregants of Lutheran, Episcopal and United Church of Christ, your pastors are supporting abortions up to and after birth, meaning they support INFANTICIDE. Let these pastors take their "We are deeply committed to social justice" cries out to city park soap boxes where the rest of social justice activists are. They do not belong in your church. #Save-all-babies-left-vulnerable-to-the-scourge-and-sin-of-abortion.
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