Black pastors call out Rev. Raphael Warnock for supporting 'systemic racism of abortion'

A coalition of more than 25 black pastors — mainly from Georgia — recently called out Democratic Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock over his support for abortion ahead of the Peach State's Jan. 5 runoff elections.

In a letter obtained by Fox News and sent last Friday, the pastors said they felt "compelled to confront" the reverend after he recently made public comments supporting abortion, which they said represented "grave errors of judgment and a lapse in pastoral responsibility."

In November, Warnock tweeted, "I will always fight for reproductive justice." Then in another tweet, he said, "I'm a pro-choice pastor, and I believe that a hospital room is way too small for a woman, her doctor, and the United States government."

The tweets followed an earlier public statement the reverend made during a podcast interview in which he argued that abortion is an exercise of "human agency and freedom" and is "consistent with" his beliefs as a minister.

Warnock, who serves as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, an Atlanta church where both Martin Luther King Jr. and his father once pastored, is challenging Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler (Ga.) for one of the two Senate seats up for grabs in Georgia.

In the letter, the pastors charged Warnock to reconsider his position based on biblical grounds and instead turn to denounce the evil practice:

As a Christian pastor and as a Black leader, you have a duty to denounce the evil of abortion, which kills a disproportionate number of Black children. Your open advocacy of abortion is a scandal to the faith and to the Black community.

Abortion is fundamentally in conflict with the plain reading of the Bible. The Bible clearly teaches that human life is created by God beginning at conception. As Psalm 139 proclaims:"You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am wonderfully and fearfully made." What human being could possibly have the right to blot out an innocent life that God has wonderfully and fearfully made?

Abortion prematurely thwarts God's providential and loving plan for a promising human life.And by terminating an innocent unborn life in the womb, abortion directly violates the seventh commandment: "Thou shalt not kill." God demands that every faithful Christian protect and uphold the sanctity of innocent human life, at every stage of life. Supporting abortion represents a serious abdication of and a transgression against that responsibility, just like the disrespect of the poor, the disabled, or the elderly.

Later in the letter, the pastors also entreated Warnock to change course over the devastation that abortion has wreaked on the black community. They pointed out that the abortion movement was begun with the premise of racism and white supremacy and today continues to disproportionately harm black Americans.

"Can you in good conscience defend abortion, knowing that abortion kills 474 Black babies for every 1000 live births?" the pastors asked.

"For all of the above reasons, we entreat you to reconsider your public advocacy for abortion," they concluded. "We implore you to uphold the Biblical defense of life and to fight against the systemic racism of abortion."

It's not the first time that Warnock has been confronted over his support for abortion. Last week, former NFL coach Tony Dungy questioned Warnock's faith over the issue.