Washington Office will honor aggressive pro-abortion group By John H. Adams The Layman Online Wednesday, June 12, 2002 COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Washington Office, the lobbying arm of the Presbyterian Church (USA), has decided to give a "Partners in Mission Award" to another lobbying group whose aggressive pro-abortion policies conflict with General Assembly positions. The award to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice will be presented during the 214th General Assembly, which meets in Columbus on June 15-22. The coalition favors no limit on women's choice to have abortions, including so-called late-term abortions. It has been virulently critical of pro-life groups, whose concerns have been reflected in abortion-policy statements by the General Assembly. For instance, the General Assembly has said that abortion should not be used as a birth-control method and has recognized the deeply held convictions of pro-life advocates. Nonetheless, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is one of the denominations affiliated with the coalition. And in 2001, the Washington Office published on its Web site one of the coalition's strongly-worded diatribes against pro-lifers. The paper was a lobbying piece against legislation that would have limited abortion rights. In preparing a report on the "Partners in Mission Award" for the National Ministries Division of the General Assembly Council, Eleanor Giddings Ivory, the Washington Office executive, praised the coalition for seeking "to ensure reproductive choice by upholding women as responsible, moral decision-makers." Her report said the coalition is "dedicated to upholding reproductive and religious freedom" and to giving "clear voice to the reproductive health issues of women, people of color, those living in poverty and the underserved. Since its founding nearly 30 years ago, RCRC has continued to promote sexuality education, family planning and contraception, affordable childcare and health care and adoption services, as well as safe, legal and affordable abortion services." The coalition is comprised of 40 national organizations from 18 mainline Protestant denominations. The Washington Office also announced that it plans to give a second "Partners in Mission Award" to the Presbytery of Western Reserve because of its "long history of public policy and social justice accomplishments … The presbytery has a long-standing commitment to addressing and eradicating racism and xenophobia, and has introduced a number of successful overtures to the General Assembly calling for the church to speak on a number of national and global concerns." The Washington Office, as well as others presenting awards on behalf of denominational groups, was required to allow the General Assembly Council to review its nominees. That requirement was an outgrowth of an enormous protest that emerged after a Women of Faith Award was presented in 2000 to Jane Spahr, a lesbian activist.

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