TUPELO, Miss.—Senators and representatives will remain in their home districts for just over a week more, after the long August recess. American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) says now is the perfect time to contact them directly and urge them to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, of $500 million in taxpayer funds.

In an Action Alert sent recently to its numerous friends and supporters, AFA urged concerned Americans to sign a petition to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take whatever steps necessary in September to defund this abortion giant.

“As the Center for Medical Progress continues to release video after video of Planned Parenthood’s moral bankruptcy, congressional leadership has failed to do what is necessary to stop pouring hundreds of millions of tax dollars into the abortion giant’s grisly business,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “We can’t wait any longer, as unborn babies’ lives depend on us. We must contact our elected officials now about defunding Planned Parenthood. In a civilized society, the barbaric practices of Planned Parenthood should never be allowed to happen, much less supported at taxpayer expense.

“Please urge Congress to act as soon as they return to Washington on September 8—to at least pass a moratorium on funding Planned Parenthood while Congress and the states investigate these atrocities,” Wildmon continued. “And please sign the American Family Association petition. Our voices need to be heard that not one tax dollar should ever fund this organization that is engaged in late-term abortion, organ harvesting and possibly illegal partial-birth and born-alive abortions.”

AFA suggests several ways to take action to defund Planned Parenthood and protect millions of unborn babies:

Sign the petition that will tell leaders that this issue is important to you and millions of other voters. As of Sunday evening, more than 50,000 Americans had signed the petition.
Call the offices of representatives and senators while they are on recess and ask for a personal meeting to discuss why the federal government must defund Planned Parenthood immediately. Find officials’ contact information here.
Attend a local town hall meeting with family, neighbors and friends. Numbers USA and Heritage Action have provided lists of town hall meetings being hosted by elected officials during the recess. Information about local events may also be listed on officials’ web sites.
Pray for courage to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. The lives of innocent babies are too precious to allow Planned Parenthood to go unchallenged.

According to Alliance Defending Freedom, 13,540 clinics around the country provide comprehensive health care for women—and do not provide abortions—versus 665 Planned Parenthood locations, many of which do provide abortions. See the map here.

“So when elected officials try to convince us that Planned Parenthood is a vital source of health care for women,” Wildmon added, “we can set them straight and debunk their attempts to misrepresent the truth. That $500-plus million can be distributed to much more worthy organizations that do not murder babies and sell their body parts. The House and Senate leadership is not doing enough to defund America’s abortion giant, and until representatives and senators hear from their constituents, it will be business as usual.”

The eighth Center for Medical Progress video, according to LifeNews.com, “shows the CEO of StemExpress, a major buyer of fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood, admitting the company gets ‘a lot’ of intact fetuses, suggesting ‘another 50 livers a week’ would not be enough, and agreeing abortion clinics should profit from the sale.”

An effort is also under way to remove the bust of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger from the Smithsonian Institute, reports CBS News. But the National Portrait Gallery says it won’t remove the bust, which has been on display since 2010.