The Layman – November 2003 Volume 36, Number 5 – Posted November 24, 2003

PCUSA’s abortion stand makes it a moral outcast “When the U.S. Congress has a higher view of life than we do, we have lost our prophetic edge.” Rev. Dr. Rick Wolling, Gathering VIII The Presbyterian Church (USA) is a moral outcast in the United States – standing alone by sanctioning partial-birth abortions when they are banned in the country. In the long debate about partial-birth abortions, the denomination never took the high ground, either medically or morally. That was left to the legislators in Washington and President George W. Bush. Votes on late-term abortion Yes No Pct. for 214th GA 394 112 77.8 215th GA 405 108 78.9 U.S. Senate, March 13 33 64 34.0 U.S. House, June 4 139 282 33.0 Senate Presbyterians 2 11 13.4 House Presbyterians 9 25 26.5 All sides in the debate have agreed that a late term, partial-birth abortion, which Presbyterian elder and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist called a “repulsive procedure,” is inflicted at a time when the baby can live outside the womb. Medical evidence has shown it never is necessary to save the life of the mother. Bush, in signing the measure into law, called it “unnecessary, not only cruel to the child, but harmful to the mother and a violation of medical ethics.” Those who support the procedure, which was sanctioned by the 215th General Assembly, argue that the new law is the opening salvo of a larger assault on abortion rights – in effect saying that it’s a political issue, not a medical or moral one. Just as with the medical evidence, they left the moral explanation of Scripture’s clear instructions to Congress and Bush, who said: “This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government because it does not come from government – it comes from the creator of life.” This disparity between commissioners to the 214th and 215th General Assemblies and legislators in Congress over the medical and moral argument regarding partial-birth abortions was enormous. Condoning such a procedure is a catastrophic moral failure that rivals the Old Testament sins of Israel as it left the Law of God and adopted the pagan practices of its neighbors. We agree with the president that, “for years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth while the law looked the other way. Today, at last, the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child.” Whither the Presbyterian Church (USA)? We strongly condemn the denomination’s failure to cherish and protect the lives of infants. Such callous disregard for the gift of life destroys our witness to the Lord God, author and sustainer of life, whose son Jesus Christ came “that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10b). The General Assembly’s action and the continued sanctioning of this barbaric procedure in defiance of the law of the land separate us from the Christian community worldwide and through the ages. It is an affront to all who are called to be “unashamed of the gospel.”

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