 Congress votes to outlaw abortion procedure sanctioned by PCUSA's commissioners By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, June 5, 2003
Furthermore, Presbyterians in the House – as had been the case in the Senate – overwhelmingly voted against killing babies in the late stages of pregnancy and in the process of delivery. The difference between votes by the commissioners and Congress were enormous. The General Assembly commissioners approved partial-birth abortion 405-108 – 78.9 percent. The House vote on June 4 against the procedure was 282-139, or 67 percent opposed. Twenty-five of the 34 Presbyterians in the House (73.5 percent) voted against partial-birth abortion. On March 13, the Senate voted 64-33 (66 percent) against partial-birth abortion. Eleven of the 13 Presbyterians in the Senate (86.6 percent) voted against the procedure. There was a major difference in the environment in which the denomination's and the nation's legislators voted. Commissioners to the General Assembly cast secret ballots that are tallied electronically. The votes by members of Congress are public records. Members of Congress are not bound by the wishes of their constituencies, but they have to defend their votes when they seek re-election. Commissioners to the General Assembly are here-today, gone-tomorrow. They do not have to tell their presbyteries how they voted on issues. They are repeatedly assured that their electronic votes are not subject to public review. President George W. Bush is expected to sign the abortion ban into law soon, which will leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) in the position of favoring an unlawful procedure. The PCUSA is the only mainline denomination in the nation that accepts partial-birth abortion as God's will and a mother's right.
The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has worked – ineffectively, it appears, as far as Congress is concerned – with those organizations and the National Religious Coalition on Reproductive Choice to ensure a woman's right to abortion in all circumstances. During the week of the General Assembly, the Washington Office honored one of the House leaders against banning partial-birth abortion. U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., was presented a Partnership in Mission award by the denomination's lobbying arm. DeGette, a Presbyterian, has served as chair of the Pro-choice Caucus in the U.S. House. As expected, she voted with the House minority in favor of partial-birth abortion. Here's how Presbyterians who are members of the U.S. House voted on June 4. (An "aye" vote favored prohibiting partial-birth abortions.) Ayes Hon. Marsha Blackburn R-TN Hon. Chris Chocola R-IN Hon. Howard Coble R-NC Hon. Jim DeMint R-SC (PCA) Hon. Jo Ann Emerson R-MO Hon. Bobby R. Etheridge D-NC Hon. Tom Feeney R-FL Hon. Porter J. Goss R-FL Hon. Katherine Harris R-FL Hon. Robin Hayes R-NC Hon. Joel Hefley R-CO Hon. Sue W. Kelly R-NY Hon. Jerry Lewis R-CA Hon. Mike McIntyre D-NC Hon. Candice Miller R-MI Hon. George Nethercutt R-WA Hon. Earl Pomeroy D-ND Hon. Deborah Pryce R-OH Hon. Nick Rahall, II D-WV Hon. Thomas M. Reynolds R-NY Hon. Jim Ryun R-KS Hon. John M. Spratt, Jr. D-SC Hon. Cliff Stearns R-FL Hon. Mac Thornberry R-TX Hon. Frank R. Wolf R-VA Nays Hon. Shelly Moore Capito R-WV Hon. Diana DeGette D-CO Hon. John J. Duncan, Jr. R-TN Hon. Jim Greenwood R-PA Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney D-NY Hon. Vic Snyder D-AR Hon. Melvin Watt D-NC Hon. Lynn C. Woolsey D-CA Hon. David Wu D-OR |
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