Planned Parenthood is being offered as many free Bibles as there are waiting rooms in the abortion giant's chain after it made a "religious argument" for abortion, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Casey Mattox, senior counsel for ADF, made the offer in an open letter to Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of American, the largest player in the nation's abortion industry.
Mattox explained that Planned Parenthood's own "pastoral letter" argued the Bible doesn't condemn abortion.
Planned Parenthood said: "The truth is that abortion is not even mentioned in the Scriptures – Jewish or Christian – and there are clergy and people of faith from all denominations who support women making this complex decision."
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Mattox wrote that while he disagrees with Planned Parenthood's interpretation of Scripture, he's not writing to debate that point.
"Instead, I write to express my agreement with Planned Parenthood, reflected in the publication of this pastoral letter, that for many women their religious beliefs will be very relevant to their decision about whether to have an abortion," he said.
"On that common ground," Mattox said, "on behalf of Alliance Defending Freedom, I would like to offer Planned Parenthood one free copy of the Bible for every Planned Parenthood facility in the country."
He said Planned Parenthood "could place these Bibles in their waiting rooms and permit women the opportunity to explore for themselves what the Jewish and Christian Scriptures have to say about abortion."
WND columnist Michael Brown had suggested this very effort, writing, "If Planned Parenthood is serious about this pastoral letter, why not put Bibles in every one of its clinics in America? (I'm sure we could find funding to get it done.) This would also offer hope for those women who did choose to abort. There is mercy and forgiveness available for them if they turn from their sins through the cross."
"I think it's a terrific idea," he told WND. "I forwarded my column to a colleague at ADF and they actually made an offer to Planned Parenthood."
Mattox told WND he had not heard from Planned Parenthood regarding the offer. Nor did Planned Parenthood agree to comment to WND on the proposal.
"We're certainly hopeful," Mattox told WND. "It certainly is disturbing to a lot of people, a lot of Americans to see them attempting to make a religious argument for abortion."
Brown told WND that was no surprise.
"I think it exposes their spiritual bankruptcy. They may deem themselves above this," he continued. "But what can they really say? If they say no, they expose their anti-religious bigotry. If they yes, they hurt their business terribly.
"Just the presence of a Bible would discourage many women sitting there," he said. "An unopened Bible would discourage people from having an abortion."
Mattox said women truly need the truth about abortion.
"That's something that concerned us," he said. "If they're going to engage in that conversation, they should do it fairly.
"We'd certainly be pleased to send them as many copies as they want," he said.
The undated letter from Planned Parenthood's "Clergy Advocacy Board" said: "Many people wrongly assume that all religious leaders disapprove of abortion."
It then reassured women that the Bible doesn't "mention" abortion, and the group offered referrals to abortion-supporting clergy.
Mattox's letter said: "There is no doubt that we are on opposite sides of this theological and moral question. But as we are in apparent agreement that Scripture and its teachings (or lack thereof in your view) on abortion would be relevant to many women's abortion decisions, making these Bibles available to those women would certainly benefit your potential customers."
He pointedly said the Bibles would not be marked.
"For instance, we would not highlight Psalm 127:3 ('Truly children are a gift from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward'), Psalm 139:13 ('You knit me together in my mother's womb…'), Psalm 22:10-11 ('You have been my guide since I was first formed … from my mother's womb you are my God') or Jeremiah 1:4 ('Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart').
"We would not dog-ear Exodus 20:13 ('You shall not kill'). Nor would we even place a bookmark at Luke 1:41,44 (where the 'baby [John the Baptist] …. leapt for joy' in his mother's womb when the baby Jesus was nearby in Mary's womb.)"
"Please let me know at your earliest convenience the addresses to which each Bible should be sent," he wrote.
Brown cited the potential problems with Planned Parenthood's reliance on the Bible to support abortion.
"If there is one book you do not want to appeal to in support of abortion it is the Bible. Yet that is exactly what Planned Parenthood has done in its new "Pastoral Letter to Patients," further identified as the Clergy Advocacy Board Statement," he wrote.
"Yes, I realize that religious leaders disagree on many different issues, but that hardly means the Bible is not clear on a subject. Some leaders simply believe that they know better than the Bible and that they are more enlightened than the human authors of the Scriptures," wrote Brown.
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"Would Planned Parenthood encourage its Protestant clients to get input from godly, Bible-believing pastors, including evangelical pro-life leaders?" he wrote. "Would Planned Parenthood encourage its Catholic clients to ask the pope for his input, seeing that he stated that, 'It is horrific even to think that there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day.' Pope Francis also described abortion as part of a 'throwaway culture,' adding, 'Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as unnecessary.'"
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins also took note of Planned Parenthood's new campaign angle.
"Women are used to Planned Parenthood preying on them – but praying on them? That's a new approach altogether," he wrote.
"Obviously, [Planned Parenthood] is always looking for new ways to justify abortion. But the Bible? That's a step too far, even for them."
Time magazine took up the Planned Parenthood argument, noting that "while the religious groups have their own particular views about abortion, they share the view that God loves women no matter their decision about a pregnancy."
The report said: "Three clergy board members – the board's chair, Reform Jewish Rabbi Jon Adland of Canton, Ohio; vice-chair Rev. Susan Russell, of All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena, California; and Reform Jewish Rabbi Dennis Ross of Concerned Clergy for Choice in Albany, New York – responded to Perkins' criticism against their work in a statement to TIME."
They said in a statement: "Too often, the voices of negative religious discourse around abortion are those that loudly proclaim their teachings are the only ones that are valid. They try to shame and judge women who are making deeply personal and often complex decisions about their pregnancies."
Perkins told the reporter that Christianity and Planned Parenthood simply are incompatible.
Mattox wrote: "We look forward to assisting you in this effort to ensure that women are empowered to decide for themselves what the Bible teaches on this important question."