Planned Parenthood (PP) recently filed suit against the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) for violating Federal and state privacy laws when CMP went undercover posing as a fetal tissue procurement company in order to gain access to PP’s behind-the-scenes operations that are hidden from the public.
PP claims CMP broke laws by creating false identities and a fake corporation to mislead the public and spread lies about PP. Interesting enough, no libel, slander, or defamation suits seem to have been filed. It seems PP is merely concerned about privacy, not truth in this matter.
PP has continually claimed the videos were “highly edited and misleading”, even after their own analysis of the full footage shows the only editing was for breaks, in which no discussion occurred. Their own analysis also reported no audio editing was found. There is a common political ploy that has become popular and unchallenged in recent years: Repeat a lie enough until it becomes “common knowledge.”
A dilemma of Christian conscience has arisen with this issue: is it okay to lie or mislead to save lives?
The Ninth Commandment tells us not to bear false witness against our neighbor. Yet, there are times in the Bible we see lies being told by those who were deemed righteous. The story of the Hebrew midwives, Rahab and the spies, and even Moses own life was based upon deception for his survival. All of these “liars” are still considered heroes of the Bible.
So, when is it okay to lie? It isn’t. Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord…”
The Lord still does not desire for us to lie.
There are situations, though, in which we may be required to deceive those who desire evil in order to save the innocent. Christian Abolitionists who desired to assist slaves escape their chains created the Underground Railroad. Surely, European Christians who hid Jews in World War II had to lie in order to protect the guiltless who were hunted for malevolent motivations were just in their actions.
Which brings us back to CMP and their motivations behind their undercover investigation which required creating fabricated identities and a mock corporation. Abortion is the murder of innocent humans. PP not only practices abortion but also has been in the business of marketing the sale of fetal tissue resulting from the bodies of these babies. The only way to expose their practices was to become one of them, so to speak.
In the videos, it is discussed by a PP executive how tightly-held their administrative operations are protected specifically to prevent lawsuits. The videos consistently show, in the words of the PP doctors and administration themselves, how they sell tissue for market value, but they also show how they openly manipulate their books to hide the income by line itemization.
PP has also spread the propaganda that the babies that are murdered by abortion are not really babies, but actually only clumps of fetal tissue. They have been so successful in their propaganda, it is hard to have a pro-abortion supporter acknowledge or even understand that abortion involves the death of humans. They hold fast to claiming it is only a fetus, as if that term removes their humanity.
It would be detrimental to PP if these videos were to be seen by the majority of the public. Their own staff call the deceased bodies they are shown to be harvesting “babies”, even sounding wistful when they proclaim it’s another boy!” PPs own deception is greatly revealed throughout the efforts of CMPs recordings.
Does this make CMP’s work “righteous” though? I wouldn’t call it “righteous.” I would call it “just.”
Please do not misunderstand. I am not condoning any acts of evil against Planned Parenthood such as the attack in Colorado Springs. One cannot fight evil with evil. But can we truly call undercover investigations that expose evil as evil themselves?
We will all face God and our sins on the Day of Reckoning. It is up to each of us to assure that when we face those sins, we can do so with God’s grace.