PPL reasserts position on life and violence
The Presbyterian Layman, October 29, 1998
In the wake of the assassination of Amherst, N.Y., abortion doctor Barnett Slepian, Presbyterians Pro-Life has reasserted its historic position on the sanctity of life and violence.
“Presbyterians Pro-Life (PPL) abhors the killing of abortionists, and grieves with the families the loss of lives of those who have died,” PPL said in a news release on Oct. 27. “PPL’s work is directed toward helping the Presbyterian Church (USA) restore its own biblical and confessional belief that every innocent human life is to be protected and cared for.”
The press release quoted from a statement by PPL’s executive director, Terry Schlossberg, that was published in the journal First Things in December 1994.
Philosophy of anarchists
“The philosophy undergirding the slaying of abortionists is one of anarchy,” Schlossberg said. “It opposes the role of government expounded in the Reformed tradition of our church. It is correct to assume that efforts to protect unborn children ought to be consistent with those to protect the born. But it is a deadly error to assume that individuals, in place of civil government, bear responsibility to take up the sword, so to speak, in defense of the innocent. Those who take matters into their own hands join the ranks of the guilty and separate themselves from biblical teaching when they choose to advocate killing abortionists or to become executioners.”
Nonetheless, the statement continued, “We should not lose our sense of shock and abhorrence at the systematic and regular killing of the unborn simply because it is a daily occurrence in American life. Neither should we forget the slippery slope that is already claiming the lives of other weak and vulnerable persons.”