Women are used to Planned Parenthood preying on them – but praying on them? That’s a new approach altogether. After a string of celebrity endorsements, Planned Parenthood insists it got the ultimate one: God’s. Obviously, Cecile Richards’s group is always looking for new ways to justify abortion. But the Bible? That’s a step too far, even for them.

In a new “Pastoral Letter to Patients,” America’s biggest abortion business (the same one that launched a 40 Days of Prayer for Choice) makes the stunning suggestion that most faiths support the decision to kill an innocent unborn child. “The truth is that abortion is not even mentioned in the Scriptures – Jewish or Christian – and there are clergy and people… from all denominations who support women making this complex decision.”

The word “abortion” may not be mentioned (for the record, neither is drunk driving, marijuana, voter fraud, and human cloning), but I think we’d all agree the subject was covered in a little thing called the Ten Commandments. What’s more, the Bible is replete with references to the sanctity of life and our creation in the image of God. David reminds us that we were “fearfully and wonderfully made,” “knit together in [our] mother’s womb.” Jesus tells us he came – not so that we might have abortion, but “life – and life more abundantly.” Is Planned Parenthood so desperate for business that it has to spiritualize the murder of tiny children? Woe, Isaiah says, “to those who call evil good and good evil.”

And according to Planned Parenthood, there are plenty who are willing to. “Though your reasons may be complicated and private,” the letter reads, “you’re not alone. As religious leaders from a number of religious traditions, we’re here to support you in your decision… If you’d like to speak with a clergyperson, your local Planned Parenthood health center can refer you to someone who will be supportive of you and your decision.”

It’s almost like a TV ad. Hurry – abortion apologists are standing by! Unfortunately, that’s not the role of the church. God’s leaders are called to preach the Word, not hand out permission slips excusing people from it. Is there grace and forgiveness? Absolutely. But only for a repentant heart. These days, even the church is becoming a target of this radical secularization, where morality is open to interpretation. We’ve seen it happen with premarital sex, same-sex “marriage,” and now abortion.

And while lightning hasn’t struck Planned Parenthood headquarters, the group is getting shocked by the latest closures. Thanks to a wave of pro-life legislation, clinics are turning off the lights in at least five clinics across Oregon, Washington, Texas, and Iowa. Too stubborn to comply with safety standards, these clinics are shutting their doors for good in a couple of the most liberal states in America. Now, if we could just get Congress to close its taxpayer-dollar funding stream…

In Florida, Her Word Is Her Bondi

If you’re looking for political leadership, skip the White House and head straight for Florida. There, Attorney General Pam Bondi is more than making up for the vacuum of courage in D.C. and governor’s mansions across the country with a powerful defense of democracy. Like a lot of states, hers overwhelmingly passed a marriage protection act in 2008 – with 62% of Floridians throwing their support behind natural marriage.

Now, six years later, with the debate raging in courtrooms across America, a lot of public officials have turned their backs on the law and the citizens who spoke at the polls. Bondi isn’t one of them. Florida’s chief law enforcer seems to have a better grasp on her job than the man who holds the country’s highest. Together with state officials who have offered a strong defense of marriage in Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Idaho, Michigan, Colorado, and at least 19 other states, Bondi took what, until recently, was a noncontroversial position for someone in her role: upholding her state’s law.

While other “leaders” in her position have thrown in the towel on their most fundamental duty, Pam refused. Despite a vicious push to get her to back down – including an oh-so-tolerant picture of Bondi’s dismembered head posted on Equality Florida’s website – Bondi is standing by her oath to voters in a great picture of personal courage. In an eloquent statement, Pam defends what she shouldn’t have to: her job.

> “Defending the wishes of the voters who enacted Florida’s marriage amendment necessarily requires me to make good faith legal arguments. In presenting those arguments, my office understands and respects that there are many who profoundly disagree with the voters’ decision. But anything less than the best defense of our voters’ policy preferences would disenfranchise the electorate, undermine the judicial process, and cast aside the professional responsibility that guides me every day as Attorney General. While defending this constitutional amendment, we have remained respectful and showed consideration for those with differing viewpoints – acknowledging in the introduction that this issue is one with ‘good people on all sides.’ Therefore, I take exception to those who have sought to manipulate our brief, trying to make it something it is not. The brief does not argue for or against same sex marriage as a matter of policy, wisdom, or fairness. Those decisions are for the voters of each state, not for lawyers or courts. It is my duty to protect Florida from the ‘harm’ of a federal injunction overriding the will of Florida voters… Any suggestions to the contrary are not only wrong, but hurtful, designed to inflame, and insulting to everyone involved. When I defend the voters’ decisions with professionalism and civility, I’m simply doing my job because my job is not to write the law, but to defend it.”

In the marriage debate, leadership like Attorney General Bondi’s is tough to come by. Do you part to thank her for her courage by sending her a message at [email protected] or by Twitter at @AGPamBondi.

Kneeling for Healing…

Almost every day, I receive messages from discouraged friends across the country. Things in Washington look bleak, the administration’s policies are still hurting families, and there seems to be no end in sight to the assault on our values. The laundry list of problems keeps growing, but the most serious threat America faces is the silence of the church. As Christians, we must take God’s admonition seriously that the healing power to change a nation is vested in His people – if, and only if, they “will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways…” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

God doesn’t place the authority to change America in Washington’s political hands or Wall Street’s powerful hands. He gives it exclusively to His church that looks in humble desperation to Him. And if there were ever a time that God’s people should be praying, it’s now. Join us in following God’s prescription for healing our land by signing up for Call 2 Fall on Sunday, June 29. Together with churches from across the nation, we recognize that the journey back to God, to His forgiveness and healing, begins on our knees in humility and repentant prayer. America needs a revival – and that revival starts with us. Are you “in?” Click here to sign up.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.