Southern Baptists approve resolution calling for investigation of Planned Parenthood over sales of baby parts

Russell Moore is seen in a screen capture of a video from the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. | YouTube/Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has approved a resolution calling for an investigation on abortion chain Planned Parenthood over its alleged participation in the sales of aborted baby parts.

The resolution, approved by the Baptists on Tuesday at the convention's annual meeting in Phoenix, denounced the Planned Parenthood as "immoral" and called on Congress to "immediately and completely" defund the abortion organization.

"We denounce the immoral agenda and practices of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates, especially their role in the unjust killing each year of more than 300,000 precious unborn babies, its use of particularly gruesome illegal abortion methods, and its profiteering from harvesting unborn babies' tissues and organs," the SBC stated in the resolution titled "On Defunding And Investigating Planned Parenthood."

According to Life Site News, the SBC also called on the U.S. Department of Justice to "pursue criminal charges against Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates for their use of illegal abortion methods, trafficking in and profiting from the harvesting of unborn babies' tissues and organs, and any other actions that may be in violation of federal law."

The resolution cited the undercover videos released by Center for Medical Progress (CMP) in 2015 showing Planned Parenthood executives allegedly negotiating the sales of aborted baby parts.

The SBC also pointed out that Planned Parenthood's own annual report reveals that its facilities perform more abortions than cancer screenings, demonstrating that abortion plays a central role in the organization.

On Wednesday, Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), released his annual report explaining that the protection of human life has been the top priority of his organization in the past year.

Moore noted that the ERLC, which is the public policy arm of the SBC, has focused on supporting efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. He revealed that the ERLC has collected thousands of signatures from people, calling on federal lawmakers to strip the abortion organization of its taxpayer funding.

The report further noted that the ERLC is educating legislators and the public about the abortion industry through campaigns, such as the Evangelicals for Life conference in January, and other means.

Earlier this year, lawmakers involved in the Congressional investigation on the issue of baby parts trafficking recommended that Congress defund Planned Parenthood. The abortion organization has also allegedly engaged in Medicaid fraud and has failed to report suspected sex trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, according to Life News.