Presbyterians Pro Life
*Christians rely on God’s revealed Word, the Bible, for determining
truth, and we look to it as our only infallible guide for faith and action.
It is our authority for understanding the distinction between good and evil
and for determining what is moral and immoral.*
*The biblical case for the protection of unborn human life from the moment
of conception*
*The position on abortion of Presbyterians Pro-Life is built on Scriptural
truths:*
1. _God places higher value on human beings than on the rest of his
creation_. Human beings are made uniquely, in the image of God,1 and are not
only distinct from the rest of creation,2 but also are rulers and stewards
of everything else created by God.3 Conception and the resulting birth of a
baby are not simply acts which continue the human race. Rather, conception
is a blessing of God.4 This fruit of the love between a husband and wife is
one evidence of God’s love and sovereignty.5 The birth of a baby is a
reward; a gift or heritage from God.6
2. _The meaning and purpose God has for each human life begins before
birth_. Scripture commonly refers to conception, rather than birth, as the
moment of our beginning.7 God speaks of us as known, cared for, protected,
and loved by Him before birth.8 He often announces His specific purpose for
individuals while they are yet unborn.9 The Hebrew word _yeled_ and the
Greek word _brephos_, used to refer to newborns and youth, are used in
Scripture to refer to the unborn. This teaches us the continuity of
existence before and after birth.10
*The teaching of medical science regarding the unborn is consistent with
Scripture.11 Scripture and science both provide us with a clear demarcation
for the beginning of human life: the moment of conception.*
3. _God forbids us to kill innocent human life_. 12 Scripture makes no
distinction regarding our humanness, born and unborn. Therefore, it forbids
the destruction of innocent human life including unborn babies. Our Book of
Confessions includes in the sins forbidden by the sixth commandment
“…neglecting or withdrawing the lawful or necessary means of preservation
of life.”13
4. _God requires us to protect and care for the needy and helpless_.14 The
duty to “bear one another’s burdens” applies to pregnancy exactly as to
every other aspect of human need. It is our task as Christian disciples and
servants, even in the most desperate of circumstances, to use the resources
God has provided to find solutions to problem pregnancies that allow both
mother and baby to live and prosper.
5. _God freely offers forgiveness and restoration to the repentant_.15 God
is rich in mercy and slow to anger. He offers forgiveness, healing, and new
life through Christ. We, the Church, are God’s agents of reconciliation in
the world, and it is our calling to extend the compassion, understanding,
and grace of God both to those involved in sex outside of marriage and to
those who have had abortions. We are to make the forgiveness, healing, and
restoration available in Christ known to women and men who find themselves
in these difficult circumstances, and to lead them gently toward repentance
and faith in Christ.16
6. _Scriptural teaching regarding the value of human life and our
responsibility to protect and care for innocent life applies in every case_.
17 just as those of us already born who were conceived in incest or rape, or
who are handicapped, or who live in dire situations of need are protected
from being killed by the injunctions of Scripture, so those yet unborn who
are conceived in the same circumstances are protected.
*In circumstances where physical complications of pregnancy develop, every
attempt should be made to preserve the lives of both mother and child.*
*The biblical case for decision-making prior to conception*
*Responsible decision-making regarding pregnancies arises from the biblical
teaching concerning life and sexuality.*
*A decision to enter into a sexual relationship should be in keeping with
the Scriptural teaching regarding chastity outside marriage and fidelity
within marriage,18 and it should acknowledge God’s full intent for such
marriage, including pregnancy and the forming of a family.19*
*Because conception is the point at which a human life is formed,
contraception should act only to*
*prevent conception. Contraception that acts to destroy the newly formed
life is, in fact, a form of abortion.*
*Why the current position of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on abortion20 is
untenable for Christians The, PC(USA) policy document adopted by the General
Assembly in 1992 says that*
_Problem pregnancies are the result of, and influenced by, so many
complicated and insolvable circumstances that we have neither the
wisdom nor the authority to address or decide each situation._
*It considers moral judgments to be a matter of each woman’s individual
interpretation of what is right or wrong in her particular crisis situation,
and*
_… acknowledges circumstances in a sinful world that may make
abortion the least objectionable of difficult options._
*Further, the current policy states flatly that*
_… no law or administrative decision should limit access to
abortion; limit information and counseling concerning abortions; or
limit or prohibit public funding for necessary abortions for the
socially and economically disadvantaged._
*This policy document of the PC(USA) fails to establish a biblical defense
for killing innocent unborn human beings, and departs dramatically from the
Church’s historical teaching on abortion.21 It is based on a situational,
quality-of-life ethic which is in direct contradiction to the
Judeo-Christian tradition. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is in serious moral
error in its teaching on abortion.*
*The goal of Presbyterians Pro-Life with respect to abortion.*
*Presbyterians Pro-Life takes a prophetic and pastoral stance within the
Church. We call the PC(USA) to repent of its current position on abortion.
We call for a change of heart and a change of policy. We plead for our
denomination to begin to promote the protection of unborn life and to
counsel for solutions to problem pregnancies which allow both mother and
baby to live and receive the blessing of God.*
*Our prophetic voice is expressed through the process of appeal provided for
by Presbyterian government and by any other means not forbidden by
Scripture, our church Constitution, or the laws of the land.*
*We trust that through the mercy and grace of God a change in the position
of our denomination will effect change in the whole society.*
*Endnotes*
*1. Genesis 1:27; Job 10:8-12; Ephesians 4:24.*
*2. Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:20; Psalm 8:5.*
*3. Genesis 1:26-30, 2:19-20; Psalm 8:6-8; Book of Confessions, 3.02; 4.006;
6.023; 7.010.*
*4. 1 Samuel 1:1-20.*
*5. Genesis 4:1; 29:30-33.*
*6. Psalm 127:3-5.*
*7. Genesis 4:1; Genesis 21:2; Genesis 29:33,34,35; 30:7;*
*I Samuel 1:20; Matthew 1:20,21.*
*8. Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:4,5; Ecclesiastes 11:5; Job 31:15.*
*9. Genesis 16:11,12; Genesis 25:23; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:4,5; Galatians
1:15,16; Matthew 1:18-25.*
*10. Genesis 25:22;1 Peter 2:2; Luke 2:12; Acts 7:19; Il Timothy 3:15; Luke
1:41,44; Luke 18:15*
*11. Human sperm and eggs both have 23 chromosomes. At conception, when
sperm and egg are united, a single cell of 46 chromosomes is formed. From
that point on, all that’s added is time and nourishment.*
*12. Genesis 9:5,6; Exodus 20:13; Ezekiel 20:31; Amos 1:13; Leviticus 18:21;
Jeremiah 32:35; Book of Confessions, 7.246.*
13. _Book of Confessions_, 7.246.
14. Proverbs 24:11,12; Psalm 10:17,18; Psalm 41:1; Matthew 18:10; _Book of
Confessions_, 4.111; 5.114.
15. Isaiah 55:7;1 John 1:9; _Book of Confessions_, 2.3; 6.064,; 6.068;
6.083; 7.033; 7.180.
16. _Book of Confessions_, 5.098; 9.32-33; 11 Corinthians 5:18.
17. _Book of Confessions_, 7.245, 7.246.
18. _Book of Confessions_, 4:108-109, 7.248-9, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4;
Proverbs 6:25-29, 7:25-27; Exodus 20:14.
*19. Malachi 2:15; Genesis 1:27,28.*
*20. Report of the Special Committee on Problem Pregnancies and Abortion,
“Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly (Micah 6:8).,” adopted by the 1992
General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA).*
*21. “….for the fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is
already a human being, and it is almost a monstrous crime to rob it of the
life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill
a man in his own house than in a field, because a man’s house is his place
of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to
destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light.”*
*John Calvin, _Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses_, (Grand
Rapids, Eerdmans, 1950), 3:41,42.
*”This Assembly regards the destruction by parents of their own offspring,
before birth, with abhorrence, as a crime against God and against nature.”*
**General Assembly, 1869*
*”The fetus is a human life to be protected by the criminal law from the
moment when the ovum if fertilized …. As Christians, we believe that this
should not be an individual decision on the part of the physician and
couple. Their decision should be limited and restrained by the larger
society.”*
**General Assembly, 1962*
_(Adopted, June 1988, Rev. 9/93)_