Can Anyone Explain the Episcopal View on Abortion?

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MrBibbins said:
As far as I can tell the Episcopal church doesn’t set a hard rule/law that all faithful must follow, however the unofficial “teaching” at the moment seems to be that abortion should only be pursued under “extreme” circumstances.

archive.episcopalchurch.org/3577_37993_ENG_HTM.htm

That said, it doesn’t seem the ECUSA hierarchy has any intention/motivation to stop clergy that deviate from this position.

lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2009/apr/09040205
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Great links…This is what I was looking for. Although, I still don’t understand this idea that the Episcopal Church doesn’t set a standard everyone must follow…How can that be? They must teach that stealing is wrong and that adultery is bad?
 
The Episcopal Church has also only allowed homosexual marriage in situations where there is a committed and lasting relationship, which tells me they have made a judgment about who should be getting married (They seem to think people who are NOT in committed relationships shouldn’t be getting married)
 
I am an ex-Episcopalian, and they really have no official dogma on anything, really. As long as you have been baptised and pay your pledge you are in.

But the parish and diocese were fairly conservative, no unions for homosexuals and almost no female clergy, it just isn’t tolerated.
 
TEC’s position is to oppose any legal impediments to a woman’s access to abortion. It is viewed largely as a matter of individual conscience, although it has expressed grave reservations about partial birth abortion.

Individual priests have taken extreme positions, including one woman who called abortion a “blessing”.

It is a sore subject with me. I was once chastised by a priest for saying that I thought abortion was morally wrong. You will note that I became a Catholic.

I cannot discuss this dispassionately. If you Google the subject, your jaw will drop. I was a member of a parish (an Anglo-Catholic one, no less) whose rector was driven out by pro-abortion activists. He is now an Orthodox priest.

The rest of the Anglican Communion is less liberal on this subject for the most part. The position of TEC is an affront to human dignity.
 
Grace & Peace!

This is from Resolution 1988-C047, adopted by General Convention in 1988 and reaffirmed in 1994. To my knowledge, it has not been rejected or repealed since its reaffirmation.
We regard all abortion as having a tragic dimension, calling for the concern and compassion of all the Christian community.

While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion, as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience.
The full text of the statement can be found here: episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/acts/acts_resolution.pl?resolution=1988-C047

Under the Mercy,
Mark

All is Grace and Mercy! Deo Gratias!
 
martininthefiel said:
TEC’s position is to oppose any legal impediments to a woman’s access to abortion. It is viewed largely as a matter of individual conscience, although it has expressed grave reservations about partial birth abortion.

Individual priests have taken extreme positions, including one woman who called abortion a “blessing”.

It is a sore subject with me. I was once chastised by a priest for saying that I thought abortion was morally wrong. You will note that I became a Catholic.

I cannot discuss this dispassionately. If you Google the subject, your jaw will drop. I was a member of a parish (an Anglo-Catholic one, no less) whose rector was driven out by pro-abortion activists. He is now an Orthodox priest.

The rest of the Anglican Communion is less liberal on this subject for the most part. The position of TEC is an affront to human dignity.
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Thank you for sharing your story and views…I can completely understand that you cannot discuss the matter dispassionately, it’s difficult for anyone to who opposes abortion. You mentioned the rest of the Anglican Communion is less liberal on the subject but does that mean they oppose abortion? Does anyone know what the Church of England’s position is on it?
 
Deo_Volente said:
Grace & Peace!

This is from Resolution 1988-C047, adopted by General Convention in 1988 and reaffirmed in 1994. To my knowledge, it has not been rejected or repealed since its reaffirmation.
We regard all abortion as having a tragic dimension, calling for the concern and compassion of all the Christian community.

While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion, as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience.
The full text of the statement can be found here: episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/acts/acts_resolution.pl?resolution=1988-C047

Under the Mercy,
Mark

All is Grace and Mercy! Deo Gratias!
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Mark, thank you for posting. I appreciate the very helpful citation.

I was hoping you could let everyone know here how you feel about it. I am not here to bash you for being Anglican, but I am curious how you feel on the matter. You write in your profile that you are Anglo-Catholic, but in America there are very few non-Episcopal Anglican churches. Do you belong to one?
 
Not Episcopal - but this is from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod position paper on abortion:

Just because something happens to be legal does not make
it moral, ethical or right.Abortion is perhaps one of the most
dramatic examples of a situation where something is legal,but
is very much a sin against God. Since 1973, abortions have
been legal in the United States.Abortion remains a sin against
God,whether or not it is legal in our society; therefore,we must
“obey God rather than men”(Acts 5:29)
 
You identify yourself at LCMS, they are pretty conservative in general though aren’t they? I thought the Lutheran Church is more like the Episcopal Church in their ideology and the LCMS is a lot like the Anglican Church in North America. Is that right?
 
I’m in the Episcopal Church and I am against abortion, except in very extreme circumstances.

The church’s position is not really a position at all, that’s correct. On paper, the church is strongly against abortion, unless the circumstances are extreme, however, they also don’t advocate or take any steps to see abortion repealed.

Many of the clergy and many bishops are quite liberal, however, the laity is still pretty split, as it has always been in this church for decades. Traditional dioceses with a traditional bishop include Western Louisianna, South Carolina, Dallas, Central Florida, Albany, and Springfield. Two of the eleven seminaries are very very orthodox (Nashotah House and Trinity School for Ministry).

No doubt, the church is trending liberal, however, there are still many like myself in the church.
 
seanman611 said:
I’m in the Episcopal Church and I am against abortion, except in very extreme circumstances.

The church’s position is not really a position at all, that’s correct. On paper, the church is strongly against abortion, unless the circumstances are extreme, however, they also don’t advocate or take any steps to see abortion repealed.

Many of the clergy and many bishops are quite liberal, however, the laity is still pretty split, as it has always been in this church for decades. Traditional dioceses with a traditional bishop include Western Louisianna, South Carolina, Dallas, Central Florida, Albany, and Springfield. Two of the eleven seminaries are very very orthodox (Nashotah House and Trinity School for Ministry).

No doubt, the church is trending liberal, however, there are still many like myself in the church.
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Sean, thanks so much for posting! It is great to hear from someone still in the Church on this issue. So I have to ask, why have you stayed in the Episcopal Church? I am very curious about it.
 
jinc1019 said:
You identify yourself at LCMS, they are pretty conservative in general though aren’t they? I thought the Lutheran Church is more like the Episcopal Church in their ideology and the LCMS is a lot like the Anglican Church in North America. Is that right?
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Yes, the LCMS is very conservative. The ELCA Lutherans are the largest group in the US, and are very, very liberal. And issue of homosexuality is a stark line in the sand dividing the Lutherans as well as the Anglican/Episcopal church.

It’s my understanding that our synod is having dialogue to explore common ground with the new Anglican Church in North American that separated from the Episcopal Church.
 
Stilldreamn said:
Yes, the LCMS is very conservative. The ELCA Lutherans are the largest group in the US, and are very, very liberal. And issue of homosexuality is a stark line in the sand dividing the Lutherans as well as the Anglican/Episcopal church.

It’s my understanding that our synod is having dialogue to explore common ground with the new Anglican Church in North American that separated from the Episcopal Church.
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That’s what I heard as well…Thanks for providing the information!
 
There is a saying in the Episcopal church that no matter what you believe, you will always find someone who agrees with you. They are very liberal and everyone is free to follow their consciences. They also like to compare themselves to Catholics by saying “all of the pageantry with none of the guilt”. I have seen conservative and pro-life Episcopalians. Many of them have split with the Episcopal church and joined an American Anglican Church.:gopray::gopray2:
 
Thanks for sharing your experiences with them…It appears as though many here agree about the Episcopal Church and it’s openess to a variety of view points and its very un-Orthodox version of Christianity. I think I have a pretty good understanding of it at this point but would love to hear from others if more are willing!
 
jinc1019 said:
Thanks for sharing your experiences with them…It appears as though many here agree about the Episcopal Church and it’s openess to a variety of view points and its very un-Orthodox version of Christianity. I think I have a pretty good understanding of it at this point but would love to hear from others if more are willing!
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Well, apparently a lot of folks here define “orthodoxy” in terms of being socially/morally conservative on certain issues, mostly having to do with sex.

If you define orthodoxy in terms of the Nicene Creed, the case against us is a lot harder to make! Though certainly we tend to be slow to discipline folks. No doubt about that. There are both good and bad aspects to this.

Edwin
 
Contarini said:
Well, apparently a lot of folks here define “orthodoxy” in terms of being socially/morally conservative on certain issues, mostly having to do with sex.

If you define orthodoxy in terms of the Nicene Creed, the case against us is a lot harder to make! Though certainly we tend to be slow to discipline folks. No doubt about that. There are both good and bad aspects to this.

Edwin
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In general, I am not anywhere near as harsh on the Episcoal Church as many others on this forum, but you can’t tell me that it is an orthodox church. You have bishops that claim that abortion is a blessing and even a bishop who questions the divinity of Jesus. If that is orthodox, then what is the Catholic Church? You can’t deny your church has gone off the orthodox track.
 
Stilldreamn said:
Yes, the LCMS is very conservative. The ELCA Lutherans are the largest group in the US, and are very, very liberal. And issue of homosexuality is a stark line in the sand dividing the Lutherans as well as the Anglican/Episcopal church.
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My dad was an ELCA pastor. His regular complaint was that the ELCA is a conservative Church with a liberal leadership… I know quite a few ELCA Lutherans, including relatives, who remain opposed to that synod’s stand on these and other issues. They need our prayers and charity.

Jon
 
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