 Washington Office promotes march for unrestricted abortions By John H. Adams The Layman Online Wednesday, March 24, 2004 The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is using the home page of its Web site to summon women to join a political march in Washington, D.C., to oppose any restrictions on abortion. Furthermore, the Web site of the Religious Coalition of Reproductive Choice lists the PCUSA as one of the co-sponsors of what's billed as "The March for Women's Lives," which is scheduled April 25. The irony of its involvement in the women's march is that the PCUSA has a both-sides-of-the-fence policy on abortion: that abortion is morally justifiable and that the position of those who oppose abortion is also morally justifiable (1992 General Assembly). In practice, however, the staff of the denomination, including the Washington Office, supports only those with the most liberal pro-abortion agenda. That will be reflected at "The March for Women's Lives," which says its purpose is to advocate absolute choice: "To ensure that all women have the right to choose to have or not to have children, with reproductive health options that are safe, affordable and accessible." Part of that package is seeking more federal tax money to pay for abortions. Terry Schlossberg, executive director of Presbyterians Pro-Life, an independent renewal movement in the PCUSA, has repeatedly tried to get denominational leaders, including the Washington Office, to honor the pro-life side of the 1992 statement – but with no success. Meanwhile, general assemblies voted in 2002 and 2003 in favor of the practice called partial-birth abortion (terminating a baby's life in the process of delivery). It is a practice that President George W. Bush, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House have declared unlawful. Presbyterian legislators in both houses voted overwhelmingly against partial-birth abortion. Schlossberg told The Layman Online that a pro-life movement named "Silent No More" – which includes women who had abortions but later determined that they were not appropriate – will have representatives at the women's march to tell the other side of the story. The 1992 General Assembly statement also said, "We are disturbed by abortions that seem to be elected only as a convenience or to ease embarrassment. We affirm that abortion should not be used as a method of birth control." While abortion reporting is sketchy, Planned Parenthood does publish the results of an annual survey among women who have had abortions. The survey does not include "birth control" as one of the response choices – but it does have similar categories. According to the latest addition of Planned Parenthood's "Facts in Brief":
Meanwhile, the PCUSA staff virtually ignores the pro-life proponents and their arguments on behalf of unborn children. 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 an abortion. Another denominational group, Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options (PARO), is equally committed to the pro-abortion position. PARO is a constituency group of the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA), which is affiliated with the denomination's National Ministries Division. While PARO says on its Web site that it affirms "mutual respect about a variety of opinion" on the abortion issue, it also takes a shot at those who advocate for unborn children. "Many anti-abortion arguments which are being disseminated in Presbyterian circles make assumptions about Christian life and faithfulness which do not reflect the faith of our Reformed tradition," PARO declares. The PCUSA is listed as one of the 30 co-sponsors of the April 25 march. Its allies include the American Humanist Association, which promotes atheistic values; non-Christian Unitarian-Universalist groups; and a number of liberal organizations, including a renegade Roman Catholic group. Besides the PCUSA, only two other mainline denominations – the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church – are among the co-sponsors. Here's the complete list of the sponsors as published by the Religious Coalition of Reproductive Rights, including some links to Web sites: 1. African American Women's Clergy Assn. 2. American Humanist Association www.americanhumanist.org 3. American Jewish Congress Commission for Women's Equality 4. Americans for Religious Liberty 5. Americans United for Separation of Church and State www.au.org 6. Catholics for a Free Choice www.catholicsforchoice.org 7. Central Conference of American Rabbis www.ccarnet.org 8. Clergy Advisory Board of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America 9. Episcopal Church , USA 10. Episcopal Women's Caucus 11. Hadassah www.hadassah.org 12. Jewish Women International www.jewishwomen.org 13. NA'AMAT www.naamat.org 14. National Council of Jewish Women www.benchmarkcampaign.org 15. North American Federation of Temple Youth www.nfty.org 16. Presbyterian Church USA www.pcusa.org 17. Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism www.rac.org 18. The Rabbinical Assembly www.rabassembly.org 19. Union for Reform Judaism www.uahc.org 20. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations www.uua.org/uuawo 21. Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation, Continental Board www.uua.org/uuwf 22. General Synod of the United Church of Christ www.ucc.org 23. United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society 24. White Fire Women Spiritual Leaders www.WhiteFireWeb.com 25. Women of Reform Judaism, the Federation of Temple Sisterhoods 26. Women's American ORT www.waort.org 27. Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church 28. Women's League for Conservative Judaism www.wlcj.org 29. Women's Rabbinic Network 30. YWCA of the USA www.ywca.org |
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