Tragic Senate Vote Propagates Culture of Death in America

Dr. Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, issued the following statement following the U.S. Senate vote last night, which defeated a bill that would have prevented hundreds of millions of dollars from being funneled to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.

“I applaud the senators who voted to take Planned Parenthood’s hand out of the public’s pocket,” Land said. “And I am appalled that so many of our nation’s senators don’t find Planned Parenthood’s auctioning of body parts and altering of abortion methods to maximize the profits from body parts to be unconscionable. A vote not to defund Planned Parenthood says more about the senators who voted against this bill than it says about Planned Parenthood itself.

“What goes on behind closed doors at Planned Parenthood is a real-life horror story,” Land continued. “Pope John Paul II talked about a ‘culture of death’ two decades ago, in which he condemned widespread moral crimes like abortion and euthanasia that were viewed as individual rights. Last night, the majority of our lawmakers could not stand and unite to put an end to this ‘horror story’ and ‘culture of death,’ even after seeing the disgusting and disturbing Planned Parenthood videos. And, more maddening is the fact that some senators have sent the message that millions of Americans would indeed keep the abortion business funded through our tax dollars—to the tune of $500 million per year—and against the wishes of many.”

Land went on to say that the Planned Parenthood scandal has ignited a debate that serves as a stark reminder of the country’s moral compass.

“There are many in our society who have completely rejected, or simply have forgotten, the God-given distinctive, incalculable value of each and every human being—no matter how small—and instead are focusing on the comparative worth of their body parts rather than the fact that they are individually unique and sacred fellow human beings,” Land said. “This is perhaps the greatest tragedy and the most illustrative of how badly we have lost our way morally and ethically as a nation.”

Southern Evangelical Seminary is a leader in apologetics education—teaching students to defend their faith and talk intelligently, passionately and rationally about what they believe and why they believe it. Many courses focus on societal issues from a Christian worldview, delve into scientific apologetics or contemplate creation research.