Planned Parenthood Thinks It Will Win. I Don’t.

Lately, Planned Parenthood has been making it crystal clear what it’s all about – abortion.

That’s the big takeaway from a recent interview Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards gave to The Atlantic last week.

The piece looks at the existential threat looming over it: the United States Congress’ repeated attempts, backed by the White House, to defund the nation’s top abortion provider.

“This has led some to wonder why Planned Parenthood doesn’t just spin off its abortion services into a separate organization,” The Atlantic explains. That would allow the abortion giant to receive its half-billion dollars in federal funding with less controversy.

And yet the article says that “Cecile Richards will have no such thing.”

Instead, Ms. Richards told The Atlantic she’s determined to push harder to end “the stigma of abortion,” and that abortion advocates have “got to quit apologizing or hiding” over the issue.

But for all of Richards’ positive spin about winning the culture war on abortion, and for all her fighting words, I’m not losing any sleep over Planned Parenthood’s chances at victory.

Why not?

One reason is that I know pro-lifers, and I see the way God is helping them live out their convictions with love for both the mother and the preborn child.

It’s especially encouraging to see how this generation of life stalwarts are engaging the culture on the topic.

And they’re doing it from the conviction that every person – even those who stand in opposition to life – have inherent worth and should be treated with dignity and respect.

Case in point is Stephanie Gray, an international speaker and author who specializes in making the case for life with graciousness.

Earlier this month Ms. Gray had the opportunity to participate in the “Talks at Google” series and delivered a speech titled, “Abortion: From Controversy to Civility” at the company’s headquarters.

Her presentation is an absolute must-watch.

Ms. Gray used the Socratic method to explore – and dismantle – the various arguments advocates of legalized abortion tend to bring up in conversations on the issue. She did it with clarity, methodical thoroughness, and great skill.

She also did it with a smile on her face.

Stephanie’s refreshing approach has been very well received. Since her talk has been uploaded to YouTube on June 19, it’s already received over 63,000 views, and the comments are overwhelmingly positive.

And Cecile Richards’ participation at “Talks at Google” from March?

Despite the superior set, format and polish Google gave her talk … well, it has only received about 1,500 views.

Perhaps that’s why Ms. Richards comes across as worried.

Before I go, I want to leave you with the video of Stephanie Gray’s presentation. I applaud Google for respecting diversity of thought and opinion enough to host this remarkable young woman:

If you want to read an overview of Gray’s hour-long presentation, you can find it here.

I’d like to hear from you: What do you think about Cecile Richards’ pledge to “quit apologizing” over abortion? What approach should pro-lifers use when advocating for life? Let me know in the comments section below.