Cruz Enlists Pastors to Defund Planned Parenthood

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is urging the nation's pastors to mobilize their congregations in a push to defund Planned Parenthood.

In an email sent to 100,000 evangelical pastors over the weekend, Cruz cites what he calls "Planned Parenthood's barbaric practices of harvesting the body parts of innocent babies and selling them to the highest bidder."

Planned Parenthood says many women donate their aborted fetuses and that the money it collects from biomedical researchers only covers costs.

In his email and an online video, Cruz asks the pastors to join a Tuesday afternoon conference call about a defunding fight he plans to lead in the coming weeks. He says pastors will be asked to preach a sermon on abortion this coming Sunday and lead their congregations in a "day of prayer and fasting" on Sept. 9.

The Texas senator is one of several candidates seeking support from evangelical Christians, who comprise a large proportion of voters in early primary states.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.