Six-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk chose not to attend a White House ceremony because of comments made by President Obama in support of Planned Parenthood.
Obama honored the Baltimore Ravens June 5 for their Super Bowl championship but Birk did not join his former teammates for the event. Birk, 36, retired after February’s Super Bowl win.
A pro-life Roman Catholic and father of six, Birk said his decision stemmed from the president’s speech to Planned Parenthood’s national conference in April. At the close of his remarks, Obama said, “Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you. God bless America.”
Planned Parenthood is the country’s leading abortion provider, performing nearly 334,000 abortions in the most recent year for which statistics are available.
“I would say that I have great respect for the office of the presidency, but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, ‘God bless Planned Parenthood,’ ” Birk told radio station KFAN-FM, according to The Baltimore Sun.
“Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year,” Birk continued. “I am Catholic, I am active in the pro-life movement and I just felt like I couldn’t deal with that. I couldn’t endorse that in any way. I’m very confused by [Obama’s] statement. For God to bless a place where they’re ending 330,000 lives a year? I just chose not to attend.”