Billy Graham's son, the Rev. Franklin Graham, has warned that the "blood of children" will be on President Barack Obama's hands if he chooses to veto the defund Planned Parenthood bill that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.
"President Obama has said he will veto the bill - if he does, it will be at his own peril and the blood of those children who are butchered at Planned Parenthood will be on his hands," Graham warned in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Graham, who is the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, called the passing of HR 3134 a "great step", as it would prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving $500 million in taxpayer dollars for at least one year.
"I'm thankful that those supporting this bill stood firm. It still has to pass the Senate, so we need to continue to pray," Graham added.
Planned Parenthood has come under fire over the past months following the release of several undercover videos by the pro-life group the Center for Medical Progress.
In the series of videos, Planned Parenthood officials and affiliates of the leading abortion company are shown discussing the illegal practice selling aborted baby parts and profiting from such sales. In turn, Planned Parenthood has denied such charges and claims it only donates fetal tissue after abortions for medical research, legally and at the request of the patient.
Speaking to Fox News, Rep. Diane Black, a Republican congresswoman from Tennessee who sponsored HR 3134, said it was not just about the end game of defunding Planned Parenthood, but about getting people to see the "despicable behavior" of the company.
Last week, however, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that President Obama would seek to veto attempts to defund the group, which is among his largest supporters.
"We've been quite forthright about the president's opposition to any effort to wholesale defund Planned Parenthood," Earnest told reporters Wednesday.
Earnest argued that it would be "cynical" to use the videos as a reason to defund Planned Parenthood: "What has injected this issue into the political dialogue of late, the graphic videos that emerged on the Internet the last couple of months, Planned Parenthood has apologized for the content of those videos and they should. They were shocking," the White House spokesman added.
In August, Graham issued a lengthy criticism of those in Congress who did not support the defunding of Planned Parenthood, reminding the politicians that they will one day stand before God and be held accountable for the blood of innocent children.
At the time, his comments were specifically directed to Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev), who accused Republicans of "not being fair to American women" and of losing its "moral compass" shortly before an attempt to defund the abortion organization fell seven votes short of advancing.
"You've got it backwards Senator Reid. You lost your moral compass years ago!" Graham wrote. "You openly support abortion-the murder of babies in their mother's wombs-and now by backing Planned Parenthood you obviously support the dismemberment and sale of baby body parts."
"Shame on you and each one in Congress who did not support defunding Planned Parenthood," he continued. "One day you will stand before God, and the blood of these innocent children will cry out for justice."
