 Panel approves modified statement sanctioning late-term abortions The Layman Online Wednesday, May 28, 2003
That statement, in response to an overture by the Presbytery of Huntingdon, is being recommended to the full 215th General Assembly. National events, meanwhile, have cast a shadow on the issue of late-term abortions. The U.S. Senate voted 64-33 on March 13 to ban partial-birth abortion. Eleven of the 13 Presbyterian senators voted for the ban. The House is expected to vote soon. If both houses concur and President George W. Bush signs the legislation – which he says he will – the Presbyterian Church (USA) could be in the position of supporting an illegal procedure that is opposed by an overwhelming majority of Americans. The 2002 statement, approved by the 214th General Assembly by a 77 percent margin, reads in part: "The ending of a pregnancy after the point of fetal viability is a matter of grave moral concern to us all, and may be undertaken only in the rarest of circumstances and after prayer and/or pastoral care, when necessary to save the life of the woman, to preserve the woman's health in circumstances of a serious risk to the woman's health, to avoid fetal suffering as a result of untreatable life-threatening medical anomalies, or in cases of incest or rape." A minority report opposing the statement, which failed by a 64 percent vote, made the argument that, "The church counsels women late in pregnancy to make a decision most likely to preserve both their own lives and the lives of their children. The ending of a pregnancy by an abortion after the point of fetal viability is a matter of grave moral concern to us all, and may be undertaken only when necessary to save the life of the mother. We urge our members to surround these families with their prayers and tangible support." 'Moral counsel' The overture (03-18) by the Presbytery of Huntingdon sought to soften the approved statement with some elements from the minority report by "offering moral counsel to protect mothers and their babies late in pregnancy." The overture said it "reaffirms the General Assembly's moral counsel 'to the church and to our culture that the procedure known as intact dilation and extraction (commonly called 'partial birth' abortion) of a baby who could live outside the womb is of grave moral concern' and, furthermore, offers the moral counsel that if it were necessary to end a pregnancy to protect the mother's life or health in the later months of pregnancy when the baby would be able to live outside the womb, a procedure should be chosen which gives both the mother and the child the opportunity to live." Both the Advocacy Committee for Women's Concerns and the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy recommended that the overture be rejected, saying that the 2002 statement "already lifts up these concerns as a guide to pastors, church members and to individuals facing the decision to continue or terminate a pregnancy" and, therefore, the overture "is unnecessary and should be disapproved." The Health Issues Committee, by a vote of 59 to 17, approved the following statement: "The church has a responsibility to provide public witness and to offer guidance, counsel, and support to those who make or interpret laws and public policies about abortion and problem pregnancies. Pastors have a duty to counsel with and pray for those who face decisions about problem pregnancies. Congregations have a duty to pray for and support those who face these choices, to offer support for women and families to help make unwanted pregnancies less likely to occur, and to provide practical support for those facing the birth of a child with medical anomalies, birth after rape or incest, or those who face health, economic, or other stresses. The church also affirms the value of children and the importance of nurturing, protecting and advocating their well-being. The church, therefore, appreciates the challenge each woman and family face when issues of personal well-being arise in the later stages of a pregnancy. "In life and death, we belong to God. Life is a gift from God. We may not know exactly when human life begins, and have but an imperfect understanding of God as the giver of life and of our own human existence, yet we recognize that life is precious to God, and we should preserve and protect it. We derive our understanding of human life from Scripture and the Reformed tradition in light of science, human experience, and reason guided by the Holy Spirit. Because we are made in the image of God, human beings are moral agents, endowed by the Creator with the capacity to make choices. Our Reformed tradition recognizes that people do not always make moral choices, and forgiveness is central to our faith. In the Reformed tradition, we affirm that God is the only Lord of conscience – not the state or the church. As a community, the church challenges the faithful to exercise their moral agency responsibly. "When an individual woman faces the decision whether to terminate a pregnancy, the issue is intensely personal, and may manifest itself in ways that do not reflect public rhetoric, or do not fit neatly into medical, legal, or policy guidelines. Humans are empowered by the spirit prayerfully to make significant moral choices, including the choice to continue or end a pregnancy. Human choices should not be made in a moral vacuum, but must be based on Scripture, faith, and Christian ethics. For any choice, we are accountable to God; however, even when we err, God offers to forgive us. While the ending of a pregnancy after the point of fetal viability is a matter of grave moral concern to us all, it may be undertaken only in the rarest of circumstances and after prayer and/or pastoral care and counsel when necessary to save the life of the woman, to preserve the woman's health in circumstances of a serious risk in the woman's health, to avoid fetal suffering as a result of untreatable life-threatening medical anomalies, or in cases of incest or rape. When it is deemed necessary to end a pregnancy to protect the mother's life or health in the later months of pregnancy when the baby may be able to live outside the womb, a procedure should be considered which gives both the mother and the child the opportunity to live." Late-term abortions sanctioned The statement, while still sanctioning late-term abortion and borrowing substantially from last year's statement, incorporates the language from the Huntingdon overture that, "When it is deemed necessary to end a pregnancy to protect the mother's life or health in the later months of pregnancy when the baby may be able to live outside the womb, a procedure should be considered which gives both the mother and the child the opportunity to live." |
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