While Tennessee Senators Voted to Defund Planned Parenthood, Majority Shuns Sanctity of Life

The Tennessee Pastors Network (TNPN, www.tnpastors.net), a state chapter of the American Pastors Network (APN, www.americanpastorsnetwork.net), the largest national network dedicated to equipping pastors to be a voice for truth in the public square, has released the following statements, after the U.S. Senate on Monday failed to pass a bill that would have defunded the abortion giant Planned Parenthood and halted taxpayer dollars from financing the gruesome abortion business.

“The Bible tells us in Psalm 139:13 that ‘You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb,’” said Dale Walker, president of TNPN. “Yet, the majority of our country’s lawmakers chose to continue to funnel money to the nation’s largest abortion provider, which steals life and turns death into profit. We do, however, applaud the efforts of our Tennessee senators—Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Bob Corker—who both voted to defund Planned Parenthood. Their actions are greatly appreciated by those who stand for life.”

Locally, on July 21, Tennessee Rep. Diane Black and 80 original cosponsors introduced H.R. 3134, the “Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015,” which would halt all sources of federal funding to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates for a one-year period, pending investigation. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The House adjourned on July 29 for its five-week August recess and won’t have votes again until Sept. 8.

Since Monday’s Senate vote, the Center for Medical Progress released its fifth undercover video, which shows a Planned Parenthood executive admitting that her doctors alter abortion procedures and she manipulates prices to accommodate specific fetal tissue harvesting requests, including delivering fully intact fetuses, Fox News reported. Fox added, “Altering abortion procedures to procure fetal tissue, delivering intact fetuses and selling fetal tissue for profit are all against federal law.”

“Even in light of these disturbing and revealing videos, many of our lawmakers have ignored the pleas of the American people—pleas to protect life and help put abortion mills like Planned Parenthood out of business,” Walker said. “Now, it will be up to our churches, our pastors and the faithful to stand for the unborn, teaching about the pain abortion causes and what Christians can do to protect the sanctity of life.

“And it’s more critical than ever for churches to wake up to their own investments in their respective denominations, and call them out to defund any company that profits from, promotes or philanthropically supports abortion,” he continued. “It cannot be taken for granted that a denomination is clean, and religious executives should have no problem in full disclosure of these matters.”

TNPN and APN offer pastors numerous online resources that help clergy choose sermon topics and find information for other church ministries. With some free and some paid resources, topics include abortion, apologetics, creation, the culture war, economics, education, the environment, history, homosexuality, Islam and marriage, along with many others.

The Tennessee Pastors Network encourages pastors to bring together biblical and constitutional principles in their sermons and provides resources to pastors throughout the state. For more information on TNPN, visit its Facebook page or call (931) 267-0816.

TNPN is a group of biblically faithful clergy and church liaisons whose objective is to build a permanent infrastructure of like-minded clergy who affirm the authority of Scripture, take seriously Jesus’ command to be the “salt and light” to the culture, encourage informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues, examine public policy issues without politicizing their pulpits and engage their congregations in taking part in the political process on a non-partisan basis.

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To interview Pastor Dale Walker from the Tennessee Pastors Network or a representative of the American Pastors Network, contact Deborah Hamilton at 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102, or Beth Harrison at 610-584-1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com.

2 thoughts on “While Tennessee Senators Voted to Defund Planned Parenthood, Majority Shuns Sanctity of Life

  1. Many at BonDeCroft Baptist Church are interested in being at the rally in Nashville, September 17, 2015; but arrangments must be made, such as getting off work and time alotments. Please send information that will help answer these questions and many more.

  2. We at church enjoyed Bro. Dale comments and very informative speach. Other churches would like to have the info I have requested as well. Thanks!

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