The LCMS Response To Planned Parenthood (And How We Lutherans Should Respond To Abortion)

By now, you've all seen the horrific, gut-wrenching video of a Planned Parenthood employee casually discussing the sale of baby parts over lunch that the mainstream media continues to ignore.

If not, then here it is for a point of reference before we continue moving forward today...

Planned Parenthood Uses Partial-Birth Abortions To Sell Baby Parts 

That was the video of Planned Parenthood's Senior Director For Medical Services caught on camera selling body parts of aborted fetuses (complete with an online Order Form!). Also, she describes how she intentionally skirts the Federal Partial-Birth Abortion Law!

My dear friends, these are serious crimes making her a criminal, and yet, the public outcry is less than what we've seen and heard in response to the "Same Sex Marriage" and Confederate Flag controversies.

It's horrific, sickening, and dare I say downright demonic too! Reminds me of Isaiah 5:20 that says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"

This is a particularly powerful observation someone made on Twitter about this tragic story that I thought I'd share here...

If a fetus is valuable enough to harvest, she's valuable enough to protect. #PPSellsBabyParts

— Razor (@hale_razor) July 14, 2015

Here's an appropriate hashtag after making a point like that: #Checkmate

Now, consider that Planned Parenthood receives over $540.6 million each year from taxpayers for government health services -- that's nearly $550 million with an "M" per year, folks!!! It's nothing but government sanctioned murder funded with the taxpayer's money. Plain and simple.

For more complete context, you can view the nearly three hours of footage here or read the 60-page transcript.

Yes, I'm well aware of the accusations that this was a cleverly edited and marketed attack on Planned Parenthood by one pro-lifer in particular (think of it as being "Fahrenheit 9/11" Michael Moore-esque), but even if that's truly the case, then how does that do anything at all to excuse and justify THE COMMON PRACTICE of trafficking human baby body parts for money? Gimme a break!

In "Planned Parenthood And The Atrocity Of Corpse-Selling" by Russell Moore, the President of the Ethics And Religious Liberty Commission of The Southern Baptist Convention, issued a public statement with this powerful portion...

The church of Jesus Christ should recommit ourselves to speaking out for human dignity. What we see in this instance is what has always been true of Planned Parenthood: Mammon worship in collision with the image of God, and the image is sacrificed on the altar of profiteering. This does not go unnoticed to God. He has said, “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey” (Isaiah 10:1-2). 

The children torn apart in abortion facilities have no names, but God knows their names. They have no resting places but Jesus grants them rest. If we are called into the kingdom of a just Messiah, one who welcomes children, we should stand up and speak up for the vulnerable ones He loves. These children may be just another line item in the abortion industry’s profit ledger, but they share the humanity of our Lord Jesus -- and we must plead for justice for them. 

It is time for the reborn to stand up for the unborn.

He's absolutely right.

An equally powerful response was released by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS)...

LCMS Denounces Planned Parenthood 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, We logged on to the Internet and Facebook yesterday only to be hit with a sickening story: undercover video footage seemingly implicating Planned Parenthood in the sale of the body parts of aborted children. 

In the video, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, discusses how she adjusts abortion procedures to procure certain parts of a child’s body, even as she notes that “we’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver.” 

Listen long enough, if you can handle it, and you’ll hear her suggest that such items could eventually be listed on a Planned Parenthood “menu” for affiliate organizations to purchase for a price. 

Later in the day, Planned Parenthood released a “nothing to see here” kind of statement, asserting that the discussion was merely one revolving around a patient’s right to donate tissue, as with any medical procedure. But why does Nucatola then mention the costs of body parts (“Thirty to one hundred dollars,” she says)? 

Lord, have mercy. 

If what Nucatola says is, in fact, the truth, we as Christians cannot allow this story to go untold or be buried by the media. We simply cannot remain silent while the reprehensible act of killing a child in the womb is made even worse by selling portions of that child’s dismembered body simply because there is a market for them. 

Speaking up about the shameful act of killing children -- as well as harvesting their body parts -- may be uncomfortable. We may lose friends and create awkward tension at work. Our professors may mock us, and our family may roll their eyes at us. If that is the case, so be it. Because as Lutherans, as Christians, we are for life, no matter the cost. 

As Lutherans, we confess that every life has value, that it has worth, that it matters … from the moment of conception until natural death occurs. We confess that what Nucatola calls “17-weekers” are actually children -- with beating hearts and little moving fingers and toes. 

We confess that even the tiniest of humans are just that -- regardless of what scientific term the culture uses to make them seem like something less. We confess that they are created in the image and likeness of our Lord Himself. And we confess that because of Him, their hearts and lungs and livers matter, no matter how small they might be. 

We also admit our own failings in this regard. Where we have failed to speak and act for life, we repent. Where we have not cared for mothers in crisis-pregnancy situations, we ask for forgiveness. Where we have thought more of ourselves than giving to an organization that can assist those moms and babies, we are sorry. Where we have been apathetic to this pandemic of death, we grieve. 

But we are not without hope, because our Lord is for life too. 

He is so pro-life, in fact, that He has given His own life for us, even as He has laid it down for these tiniest of children. Where their short lives are taken, He offers up His willingly. Where their little bodies are sold, He gives His freely to us at His holy table for the forgiveness of our sins. 

Today let us confess life with renewed vigor -- to our friends over supper, through letters to the editor of our local paper, by writing our congressmen, in tweets and emails to Planned Parenthood, on our Facebook pages. 

Let us pray that our Lord would bring an end to abortion altogether and that He would stop the horrible sale of infant bodies. 

And let us pray that He would forgive us, renew us and bolster us to make a good confession in season and out of season: one that is always, no matter what, for life. 

Rev. Bart Day, Executive Director 

Life and Health Ministries 

LCMS Office of National Mission

So how do we respond as Christians?

How should we Lutherans respond to evil like this?

Rev. Eric J. Brown has some good, Biblical thoughts in his "How To Fight Evil" piece, which was a direct response to this video.

In short, he reminds us that God's grace is certainly available to the Abortionist, the Planned Parenthood Employee, and the Woman Who Has Had An Abortion.

Of course, however, if neither person repents of their sin, then we need to remember that judgment and revenge of any kind does not belong to any of us.

Leviticus 19:18 (ESV) You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Deuteronomy 32:35 (ESV) It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.

Deuteronomy 32:41 (ESV) if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and will repay those who hate me.

Romans 12:19 (ESV) Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

Hebrews 10:30 (ESV) For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people."

Even so, as we have tried demonstrating already, silence from us is not an option.

This isn't the first time we've covered this topic here and it definitely won't be the last I'm sure.

 

VIDEO: The Sound of 50 Million Abortions

Why Christians Must Continue To Speak Out Against Abortion

'Plan B One-Step' A Step Towards Murder

Convicted By The Gosnell Abortion Clinic Trial

'Cookie Theology': Let's Not Forget About The Girl Scouts Either

Like I said, we cannot -- we must not -- remain silent when it comes to speaking up and speaking out against the horror (sin) of abortion.

I've said it before and I'll say it again (a reference to a quote I once saw): "I refuse to concede intellectual and scientific superiority to the faction which claims to know how the universe began, but cannot tell me when life begins in the womb."

It's a great quote, but it doesn't even mention morality.

Pastor Matt Richard is another man of faith who has written several excellent commentaries on this subject from a moral and thoroughly Christian perspective. They can and should be used as valuable resources to help you in your conversations with others.

Questions To Ask Those Who Are Against Abortion 'And' Pro-Choice

Why Your Friends Are 'Pro-Choice' (And What to Do About It)

Why Both "The Women's Right To Choose" And "The Right To Life" Arguments Get It Wrong

40 Days Of What? Planned Parenthood Has 40 Days Of Prayer.

Monsters Among Us...Ethicists Advocate For After-Birth Abortions

I hope that was helpful.

To sum it all up for us, we're not the first generation (or the last) to deal with this.

There are certainly more examples of the church’s consistent teaching of the sinfulness of abortion. These are simply given in order that it would be clear that the church has never wavered on this teaching. These are given in order that we might be unwavering in our defense of the lives of unborn children. 

And so, to those who have been fighting the good fight. To those who have been courageous in the defense of the unborn. Straighten your spines! Know that you are standing in a very long line of brothers and sisters in Christ who have fought the same fight! Continue to be the voice for those who have none of their own. You are doing the right thing. You are being faithful to Christ in your endeavor. You are loving your unborn neighbor as Christ has first loved you. 

*- Pastor Adam Lehman from "Abortion: The Ancient/Modern Issue"

In a Lutheran layman's terms, "as Lutherans, as Christians, we are for life, no matter the cost." 


NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Candy-Making, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm also a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism almost 2 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because we now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha!). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm experiencing and/or studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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