Prominent Pastor Reacts to Planned Parenthood's Claim That It Is Falling Victim to 'Harassment by Extremists

Prominent theologian John Piper was among the scores of people who assembled outside of Planned Parenthood clinics across the nation on Saturday to protest amid the ongoing release of undercover footage purporting to show the organization selling tissue from aborted fetuses.

Pastor John Piper (Desiring God)

Joining a crowd of 6,000 outside of a clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota, Piper was asked to pray and opened with unifying words about how God created every individual; he added that everyone "is a sinner in desperate need of salvation that you offer in Jesus Christ."

"You made all the children. You made all the abortionists. You are our creator," he said. "You uphold all things by the Word of your power. You sustain all things. You govern all things."

Piper went on to ask God that Planned Parenthood would "live in righteousness" and that the organization would stop "killing ... children."

"We want to dedicate ourselves afresh and we want to pray for Planned Parenthood that they might 'live to righteousness,'" he said. "We want to ask that according to their title, which is on the wall — Planned Parenthood — that they would bring about nurturing parents rather than helping parents stop being parents by killing their children."

Piper prayed that God would help people to see that "killing children is not an acceptable solution" when handling a crisis pregnancy and that there are other options for women to consider; he pleaded that "truth would hold sway."

"So bring out of this building here all the truth that goes on in there. Let it be seen for what it is," he said. "And so, Lord, when you do these mighty works, may your name be honored and my Christ be exalted, may the gospel advance in our land. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen."

Listen to the stirring prayer here.

Following the protest, Piper penned a blog post detailing his reaction to the gathering. It included a reflection to Planned Parenthood's ongoing public reaction to the protests. The pastor cited the following response from the organization:

The more we learn about this, the clearer it is that it’s part of a much bigger pattern of harassment by extremists whose real goal is to ban abortion and defund Planned Parenthood. The people behind this attack will stop at nothing in their quest — including breaking the law themselves and willfully misrepresenting the facts to the public. The protesters here today are simply an extension of that effort.

Then, Piper flatly pushed back against these claims.

"No. There were just too many strollers and baby-packs for me to think that group was made up of 'extremists' ready to break the law," he said. "But yes, the goal is to eliminate child-killing and defund Planned Parenthood."

Protests at an estimated 320 Planned Parenthood locations across the country on Saturday could account for the largest-ever public grievance against the nationwide clinic chain — protests that continue to ramp up as a pro-life, medical ethics group releases undercover and investigative footage purporting to show that Planned Parenthood sells aborted fetal tissue.

(H/T: Christian Post)

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