Washington, DC -- Upon the conclusion of this morning's hearings held by the House Judiciary Committee regarding Planned Parenthood, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, issued the following statement:
"I thank Congressman Bob Goodlatte and Congressman Trent Franks for their leadership in this hearing, and I thank those members of Congress who made such impassioned statements defending the children killed by late-term abortion procedures, including some who are killed after being born. The statements made by those members, and the questions they asked, represent America's top moral priority right now: to come to our senses and to recognize both the corruption in the abortion industry and the barbaric practice of abortion. In sharp contrast, and summing up the eclipse of conscience we suffer in America regarding our youngest children, witness Priscilla Smith actually called the D and E dismemberment abortion procedure "humane."
"On display at this hearing was not only Planned Parenthood's utter lack of conscience, but likewise the utter lack of conscience of the Democratic members of the Judiciary committee who spoke today. All they could do was to criticize their political opponents and attempt to discredit the evidence against Planned Parenthood. Tragically, they could not bring themselves to condemn the dismemberment of living human children. What has made millions of Americans gasp about in horror these last two months is apparently not enough to draw even a word of criticism from these ideological puppets of the abortion industry.
"Two conclusions should be drawn from this hearing. First, Planned Parenthood should not just be defunded; it should be shut down entirely. And second, in next year's elections, we need to elect public servants who know the difference between serving the public and killing the public."