SACRAMENTO, California, July 19, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — In response to the video of a Planned Parenthood doctor discussing the sale of human parts of unborn children, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) are calling upon the federal government to completely defund Planned Parenthood, launch a federal investigation of the organization’s operations, and consider additional legislation to protect human life.

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“The idea of selling the parts of unborn babies is reprehensible and barbaric,” said NHCLC President Rev. Samuel Rodriguez. “We are calling on our elected officials on both sides of the isle to condemn these actions of Planned Parenthood. Not one tax payer’s dollar should ever be allocated towards Planned Parenthood, ever and without exception.”

For over 15 years, the NHCLC has worked to lower the number of abortions in the Hispanic American community. One of its goals is to raise awareness of the intentionality of organizations such as Planned Parenthood specifically targeting Latino and African American communities.

“This ultimately comes down to the fight for respect of life—in every individual born and unborn. We believe that every single person was created in the image of God,” said Rodriquez. “We call all Hispanic evangelicals to rise up and stand for the sanctity of life from the womb to the tomb.”

NHCLC partners with Focus on the Family, works with pregnancy crisis centers across the United States, and runs a restorative outreach program for women who have had abortions in order to educate and minister to its community. As a result of its advocacy for human life, NHCLC also runs an adoption initiative as an alternative to abortions.

NHCLC’s condemnation of Planned Parenthood’s actions stems from its Imago Dei campaign, which upholds that the image of God exists in all human beings, even the unborn.

The foundation of Imago Dei is the statement: “I recognize that every human being, in and out of the womb, carries the image of God – without exception. Therefore, I will treat everyone with love and respect.”

NHCLC/CONEL is the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization. It serves as a representative voice for the more than 100 million Hispanic Evangelicals assembled in over 40,000 U.S. churches and another 500,000 congregations spread throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora. The organization seeks to reconcile Evangelist Billy Graham’s message of salvation through Christ with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march of prophetic activism. For additional information, visit http://www.nhclc.org. NHCLC/CONEL emphasizes “7 Directives” of Life, Family, Compassionate Evangelism, Stewardship, Justice, Education and Youth.