The bottom line is that an apology makes no sense unless Richards is also conceding the humanity of these unborn children. But if she concedes that, she is confessing that Planned Parenthood’s work is a human tragedy and moral atrocity of the highest order. If that is what she is confessing, then she owes an apology for much more than Dr. Nucatola’s “tone.”

The President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards released a video statement to defend her organization in the wake of the damning video that was released earlier this week (see above). The statement is awful on so many levels. But there are two glaring reasons that her statement falls short:

(1) Richards does not dispute the fact that Planned Parenthood dismembers human babies in utero and traffics their body parts. In a sad spectacle of missing the point, Richards tries to defend Planned Parenthood against allegations of profiteering. She says,

“The allegation that Planned Parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation is not true.”

What she fails to see is that normal people are scandalized not by the allegations of profit but by the reality of butchery in Planned Parenthood’s abortion mills. What shocks the conscience is to hear Dr. Deborah Nucatola casually describe the barbarity that is routine at Planned Parenthood. That inhumanity is lost on Dr. Nucatola, and it is lost on Cecile Richards. But it is not lost on anyone watching the video. No amount of euphemism (“tissue donation”) can conceal what is revealed in the video. Planned Parenthood trades in the severed limbs and organs of human babies. And Richards does not dispute that central fact.

(2) Richards offers an apology for Dr. Nucatola’s “tone” in the video. Richards says,

“Our top priority is the compassionate care that we provide. In the video, one of our staff members speaks in a way that does not reflect that compassion. This is unacceptable, and I personally apologize for the staff member’s tone and statements.”

This apology is an enigma wrapped in a contradiction. What does she mean by “compassionate care”? Care and compassion for whom? For the babies? Is she really arguing that Dr. Nucatola should be more compassionate in talking about how she kills the babies? As if it’s okay to kill the babies so long as you talk about it nicely after the fact?

The bottom line is that an apology makes no sense unless Richards is also conceding the humanity of these unborn children. But if she concedes that, she is confessing that Planned Parenthood’s work is a human tragedy and moral atrocity of the highest order. If that is what she is confessing, then she owes an apology for much more than Dr. Nucatola’s “tone.”

As the largest abortion provider in America, Planned Parenthood kills about 900 unborn babies per day nationwide—that’s about 330,000 children killed in their clinics annually. The video reveals the human cost behind those numbers. Planned Parenthood dismembers human babies in utero. The damning euphemisms of Planned Parenthood’s apologists cannot conceal that.

Denny Burk is Associate Professor of New Testament and Dean of Boyce College, the undergraduate arm of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article first appeared on his blog and is used with permission.