PCUSA agencies oppose 3 overtures seeking to overturn abortion policy By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Online Friday, June 11, 2004 Three overtures seeking to overturn the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s policy on abortion are being opposed by denominational agencies as "unnecessary" and that they "obscure current policy." The overtures – 11-01, 11-02 and 11-03 – will be decided at the 216th General Assembly when it meets June 26-July 3 in Richmond. The overtures, if approved, radically would alter what the denomination has to say about abortion. Previous General Assemblies have both sanctioned abortion – including so-called partial-birth or late-term abortion – while, at the same time, instructing Presbyterians to heed the moral opposition of those who oppose abortion. But that moral opposition rarely has been heeded by denominational leaders. Instead, as is the case with the agencies opposing these overtures, they almost always align with pro-abortion groups. In March, for example, the Washington Office helped sponsor a political march in Washington, D.C., to oppose any restrictions on abortion. The Washington Office does not promote any alternatives to abortion, such as adoption. Instead, it spends its resources and time advocating abortion with no moral restraints on when a woman may have such a procedure. Citing numerous Bible verses to state its case, Overture 11-01 by the Presbytery of Upper Ohio Valley calls on commissioners to end the denomination's sanction of abortion, which includes the termination of a baby's life in the process of delivery. "In the light of God's revealed word in Scripture and in adherence to our own historical standards of the Reformation," the overture calls for a constitutional amendment opposing abortion in the denomination's Book of Order. The overture would allow only one exception: to protect the life of a mother when she is "truly endangered." The overture would add this paragraph to the Book of Order: The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) stands with the Lord God and His Messiah Jesus in affirming the life of each unborn child, protecting that child and the child's family, and in providing for their nurture. With the exception of abortion in order to protect the life of the mother, we stand against the practice of abortion and do condemn it while praying for and ministering to the victims of abortion and those who provide abortions. It calls on the 216th General Assembly to "determine that the 214th and 215th General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) erred in supporting abortion, especially late-term partial-birth abortion." The overture also asks the General Assembly to declare that the Board of Pensions of the PCUSA – which provides health-care coverage for church employees – "errs in providing [coverage] for abortions – except in the case of pregnancies truly endangering the life of the mother." Both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives have approved bills that would ban late-term or partial-birth abortions, and President George W. Bush signed the measure into law. It is on hold pending appeals in the court system. The overture is opposed by the Advisory Committee on the Constitution, which is recommending that commissioners reject it because "The Book of Order is a document that declares the manner and means by which we govern ourselves as a provisional demonstration of the Body of Christ and how we interact with one another. While there are declarative statements in the document, they serve primarily as foundational statements in matters of governance, and not as social pronouncements." After recommending that commissioners disapprove the overture, the Advisory Committee on the Constitution then says, "It is for the General Assembly, not this advisory committee, to determine the wisdom of such a change in policy" on abortion. The overture also is opposed by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, which calls it "unnecessary, dishonest, misleading" and that it "errs in its understanding of current policy on problem pregnancies." Overture 11-02, from the Presbytery of Charlotte with concurrence from the Presbytery of John Knox, calls on the 216th General Assembly to: 1. Urge its churches to affirm in their ministries the protection of babies in the womb who are viable – that is, well-developed enough to survive outside the womb. 2. Urge that our churches support live delivery of the baby in the interest of protecting the life and health of both the mother and the baby in cases where problems of life or health of the mother arise late in a pregnancy. 3. Urge its churches to provide pastoral and tangible support to women in problem pregnancies, seeking ways that the church can intervene to mitigate the problems in a pregnancy. 4. Affirm adoption as a provision for women who deliver children they are not able to care for, and ask our churches to assist in seeking adoptive families within the household of faith. The overture states that, "Our general assembly has affirmed as policy that: ". . . after a human life has begun, it is . . . cherished and protected as a precious gift of God, [and] The strong Christian presumption is that since all life is precious to God, we are to preserve and protect it. (Problem Pregnancies and Abortion, the General Assembly's current policy, 1992, p. 11; see also Minutes, 1992, Part I, p. 369 and 368 respectively) and "That the 209th General Assembly (1997) offer a word of counsel to the church and 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 that should be considered only if the mother's physical life is endangered by the pregnancy. (Minutes, 1997, Part I, p. 65) "The Scriptures, our confessions, and church policy all support the effort to avoid death as an outcome in situations of need, including abortion, and to seek ways to affirm and protect the lives of human beings, such that in late-term pregnancies, particularly, where babies could live if delivered live, the church is called to speak and act in ways that protect the lives and health of the unborn as well as their mothers," the overture states. The Advocacy Committee for Women's Concerns, in opposing the overture, warns commissioners that approving the overture would "negate the work of careful study conducted by committees for two General Assemblies (2002 and 2003). Item 11-02 greatly restricts the positions past General Assemblies have approved. If approved, this misleading rendering of policy could become current policy." The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy also opposes it, citing the same grounds on which it opposed Overture 11-01. Overture 11-03, from the Presbytery of Beaver-Butler, seeks to clarify late-term abortions. It calls on: 1. All members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to affirm in their ministries the protection of babies in the womb who are viable.that is, well-developed enough to survive outside the womb. In cases where problems of life or health of the mother arise late in a pregnancy, we urge our members to support the live delivery of the baby in the interest of protecting the life and health of both the mother and the baby. 2. Urges our members to provide pastoral and tangible support to women in problem pregnancies, seeking ways that the church can intervene to mitigate the problems in a pregnancy. We affirm adoption as a provision for women who deliver children they are not able to care for, and ask our members to assist in seeking loving, adoptive families with the household of faith. Both the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and the Advocacy Committee for Women's Concerns recommend that commissioners disapprove the measure, on the same grounds they urged the rejection of Overture 11-02.

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