Which Protestant Faiths Permit Abortion

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Spun said:
The Seven Sisters of American Liberal Protestantism are:
  1. The Episcopal Church
  2. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  3. The United Methodist Church
  4. The American Baptist Church
  5. The Reformed Church in America
  6. The Presbyterian Church (USA)
  7. The United Church of Christ.
Some interpose the Disciples of Christ where I have put the Reformed Church in America.

In addition, the mainline Mennonites, the Quakers (Society of Friends) and several other smaller churches hold views similar to all these on the matter of abortion.

In most cases these churches support abortion on demand, in some cases making provision for it in the healthcare they offer church workers. In most official statements they wring their hands and express their sadness over abortion and their desire to reduce the number of abortions performed in the world, but they will not categorically state when life begins or whether the embryo has any innate right to life. In most cases they side with the right of the mother to either terminate or have a baby as a sovereign and inalienable right.
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Most, but not all cases. Generalizations are rarely accurate or true. I posted the United Methodist position many pages ago. Abortion on demand is clearly NOT embraced. Abortion as birth control is rejected. Cases of life vs. life (i.e., a mother’s health in jeopardy) are the “tragic” decisions where the UMC admits that black and white turn gray.
United Methodist Social Principles:
In continuity with past Christian teaching, we recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures. We cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection.

We oppose the use of late-term abortion known as dilation and extraction (partial-birth abortion) and call for the end of this practice except when the physical life of the mother is in danger and no other medical procedure is available, or in the case of severe fetal anomalies incompatible with life. We call all Christians to a searching and prayerful inquiry into the sorts of conditions that may warrant abortion. We commit our Church to continue to provide nurturing ministries to those who terminate a pregnancy, to those in the midst of a crisis pregnancy, and to those who give birth. We particularly encourage the Church, the government, and social service agencies to support and facilitate the option of adoption.
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The media and many others have stated that the United Methodist Church is pro-abortion. That is simply untrue. The UMC has continued to take a stand on homosexuality as well. The “Seven Sisters” analogy you use is pure anti-Protestant rhetoric, in my opinion.
 
Spun said:
The Seven Sisters of American Liberal Protestantism are:
  1. The Episcopal Church
  2. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  3. The United Methodist Church
  4. The American Baptist Church
  5. The Reformed Church in America
  6. The Presbyterian Church (USA)
  7. The United Church of Christ.
Some interpose the Disciples of Christ where I have put the Reformed Church in America.

In addition, the mainline Mennonites, the Quakers (Society of Friends) and several other smaller churches hold views similar to all these on the matter of abortion.

In most cases these churches support abortion on demand, in some cases making provision for it in the healthcare they offer church workers. In most official statements they wring their hands and express their sadness over abortion and their desire to reduce the number of abortions performed in the world, but they will not categorically state when life begins or whether the embryo has any innate right to life. In most cases they side with the right of the mother to either terminate or have a baby as a sovereign and inalienable right.
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One needs to be careful here, not to misrepresent. The ELCA position is not as you portray here, though their leftist political positioning shines through their statement (one of the issues that caused me to become LCMS).
Triune Unity posted a link to their statement earlier in this thread.

Jon
 
Jon,

I have often heard that the ELCA was one of the churches which provides for abortion on demand for church workers in their healthcare plan.

The director of outreach for National Right to Life perpetuates this in this document. Is he wrong when he says that “At the ELCA’s 1997 convention, a resolution to restrict ELCA funding of abortions to the three cases stated above was rejected 70%-30%. The ELCA funds elective abortions in the church’s health care coverage for pastors and professional church workers”?

O.S. Luke,

I am aware of the strong morally conservative movement in the UMC and the movement of that church to the right on several matters and I should have been more careful.

That said, I was generalizing. I tried to avoid too broad a characterization and it needs to be pointed out that in all these churches (with the possible exception of the UCC) there are considerable and vocal morally traditional movements. I did not mean to imply that these churches, as communities, were uniform. For this reason, questions about “which Protestant churches permit abortion” are doomed to be problematic. Protestant churches are by their nature, of varying degrees of uniformity on ANY issue. All we can go by are what they say collectively and that is what I was trying to address.

It remains that in their official documents they remain effectively pro-choice. I would also suggest that well publicized differences over “abortion as a form of birth control” are a strawman. NARAL and NOW both also say that abortion shouldn’t be a form of birth control. The public opposition of these churches to the practice doesn’t distinguish them from pro-choice agitators in any meaningful way.

So when people purporting to represent these churches in public discussion attempt to distance themselves, or others in those churches from the public pronouncements and decisions of their leadership, those of us outside them are bound to be somewhat confused. It may very well be that whatever number of members of a church differ from the decisions of that church in synod, but that is, ultimately, beside the point.

I agree however that it does make the question of the OP necessary of further clarification.
 
Spun said:
Jon,

I have often heard that the ELCA was one of the churches which provides for abortion on demand for church workers in their healthcare plan.

The director of outreach for National Right to Life perpetuates this in this document. Is he wrong when he says that “At the ELCA’s 1997 convention, a resolution to restrict ELCA funding of abortions to the three cases stated above was rejected 70%-30%. The ELCA funds elective abortions in the church’s health care coverage for pastors and professional church workers”?
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I’m only referring to what the ELCA posts on its website. There are ELCA members here who can speak to the greater specifics of their approach to abortion. Honestly, Spun, while I mean this in no way to discredit my Lutheran brothers and sisters (both literal and figurative) in the ELCA, little that its leadership does would surprise me.

Jon
 
**Missouri Synod’s view of abortion? **
The LCMS believes that abortion is contrary to God’s Word and “is not a moral option except, except as a tragically unavoidable byproduct of medical procedures necessary to prevent the death of another human being, viz., the mother” (1979 Res. 3-02A). Official synodical resolutions and other materials on this topic are available from the Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR).
lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/CTCR/Abortion_Perspective2.pdf

Abortion: WELS Perspective
Resolution on Abortion
WHEREAS 1)
the Holy Scriptures clearly teach that the living yet unborn are persons in the sight of God and are under the protection of His commandment against murder (Job 10:9-11; Ex 20:13; Mt 5:21; Ge 9:6; Ps 139:13; Ps 51:5; Jer 1:5; Lk 1:41-44); and WHEREAS 2)our hearts are grieved over the millions of unborn who are being murdered each year through the sin of willful abortion; and WHEREAS 3)our synod has historically testified against abortion, except when it is medically necessary to save the life of the mother; therefore be it Resolved.
wels.net/about-wels/doctrinal-statements/abortion?page=0,0

Abortions: ELCA Perspective
Convictions of our Faith:
•Human beings, created in God’s image as male and female (Genesis 1:27-28), are persons of intrinsic value and dignity.
•All of life is a mysterious, awesome gift of God. Biblical passages express the God-given mystery of creation (Psalm 139; Jeremiah 1:5; Isaiah 40:26ff; Luke 1:41; Acts 17:24-25).

“Abortion ought to be an option only of last resort. Therefore, as a church we seek to reduce the need to turn to abortion as the answer to unintended pregnancies.
"The church recognizes that induced abortion is necessary in cases of rape, incest, where the mother’s life is threatened, when conceptions occur under dehumanizing conditions that are contrary to God’s purposes, circumstances of extreme fetal abnormality, which will result in severe suffering and very early death of an infant.”
“This church opposes ending intrauterine life when a fetus is developed enough to live outside a uterus with the aid of reasonable and necessary technology.”
elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements/Abortion.aspx#abc

Thank you to Triune who provided these links. From my own words, what I could conclude of each synod is that for the most part abortion is to be abhorred, except in the case where the mother’s life is threatened. In the instance of the ELCA they make quite a plea for the moral right to abort. The ELCA confesses that it is divided in its decision on abortion. "Induced abortion, the act of intentionally terminating a developing life in the womb, is one of the issues about which members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have serious differences.

Now I ask you, members of the CAF how does this make you feel. Can abortion be morally justified and can a church maintain it is Holy, One, Universal, and Apostolic if it is divided?
 
Here is more information regarding which Protestant religions permit abortion. These quotes were provided by the WELS site; here is their link:
wels.net/about-wels/doctrinal-statements/abortion?page=0,0

“In 1974, one year after abortion was legalized, the U.S. Congress held public hearings on the prospect of a Human Life Amendment. Among those testifying were the following religious leaders: Bishop A. James Armstrong, president of the Board of Church and Society for the United Methodist Church; Mr. William Thompson, Executive Officer of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America; and Rev. Sidney Lovett, Jr., Conference Minister for the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ. Each spoke in favor of the right to abortion.”

“Sprouting from the **United Methodist Church **came an organization called the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR). A 1978 pamphlet produced by the agency contained pro-abortion position statements of its member agencies. Among those agencies were the following: American Baptist Churches, Disciples of Christ, Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church in the U.S., **United Church of Christ **and the United Methodist Church.”

Again thanks to Triune Unity for providing these links.
 
humble_maid said:
Thank you to Triune who provided these links. From my own words, what I could conclude of each synod is that for the most part abortion is to be abhorred, except in the case where the mother’s life is threatened. In the instance of the ELCA they make quite a plea for the moral right to abort. The ELCA confesses that it is divided in its decision on abortion. "Induced abortion, the act of intentionally terminating a developing life in the womb, is one of the issues about which members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have serious differences.

Now I ask you, members of the CAF how does this make you feel. Can abortion be morally justified and can a church maintain it is Holy, One, Universal, and Apostolic if it is divided?
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Welcome, humble 🙂

Abortion can never be morally justified unless it is the result of medical treatment on the mother. An example would be a mother diagnosed with cancer who undergoes cancer treatment and the fetus dies as a result. In this case, murder is not intended. I, of course, would stand by the WELS statement.

As for the ELCA and other churches which condone abortion above and beyond accident or necessity…I would be firm in contending that they are in no sense churches and have apostasized from the faith (realizing there are members there who are Christians; but I speak in a visible sense). Of course, there are many other reasons that they are apostate, but no church can claim to serve the God of life and support the holocaust of His creation.
 
JonNC said:
I’m only referring to what the ELCA posts on its website. There are ELCA members here who can speak to the greater specifics of their approach to abortion. Honestly, Spun, while I mean this in no way to discredit my Lutheran brothers and sisters (both literal and figurative) in the ELCA, little that its leadership does would surprise me.

Jon
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But Jon,

Surely you can see that when the question is asked, “Which Protestant Churches permit abortion”, the answer must be yes for the ELCA?

May the tribe of all those good Lutheran folks who oppose abortion in the ELCA increase, but it remains that all we have to go with are the deliberations and statements of their leadership.
 
United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America; United Church of Christ. United Methodist Churches, **United Church of Christ **
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I once heard it said that any “United” church will be liberal politically. The process of uniting forces it upon the churches.
 
4Squarebaby said:
I once heard it said that any “United” church will be liberal politically. The process of uniting forces it upon the churches.
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Hello 4squarebaby,

Since you commented I would like to know what is the pentecostal view on abortion?

God Bless:)
 
In my post #204 I mentioned the agencies that are members of the RCAR; one in particular is the Lutheran Church in America. Can someone tell me the how are they different from the three other synods of the lutheran faith? Are there anymore? By what name are the lutherans elswhere known as? You could send me a PM , so as not to derail the thread. Thank you.
 
humble_maid said:
Hello 4squarebaby,

Since you commented I would like to know what is the pentecostal view on abortion?

God Bless:)
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The Foursquare Church and the Assemblies of God are against it, probably most others also. I would have to be at home and on my computer instead of this phone to see the declaration of faith and official church doctrine on the matter.
 
TriuneUnity said:
Welcome, humble 🙂

Abortion can never be morally justified unless it is the result of medical treatment on the mother. An example would be a mother diagnosed with cancer who undergoes cancer treatment and the fetus dies as a result. In this case, murder is not intended. I, of course, would stand by the WELS statement.

As for the ELCA and other churches which condone abortion above and beyond accident or necessity…I would be firm in contending that they are in no sense churches and have apostasized from the faith (realizing there are members there who are Christians; but I speak in a visible sense). Of course, there are many other reasons that they are apostate, but no church can claim to serve the God of life and support the holocaust of His creation.
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Thank you for your information. Please take a few minutes to see this; it is regarding a mother who was 4months pregnant faced with aborting her child to start chemo treatments. You will be amazed at her decision. She is Catholic by the way. I ask other members to view this as well. Very touching and great example of “laying down your life for another”. Jesus taught that this was the greatest act one could give.
youtube.com/watch?v=GdfOoEg0xws&feature=channel
 
humble_maid said:
In my post #204 I mentioned the agencies that are members of the RCAR; one in particular is the Lutheran Church in America. Can someone tell me the how are they different from the three other synods of the lutheran faith? Are there anymore? By what name are the lutherans elswhere known as? You could send me a PM , so as not to derail the thread. Thank you.
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Be happy to answer, humble. The Lutheran Church in America is no longer a distinct denomination. Prior to the advent of the ELCA, there were three mainline (liberal) Lutheran bodies in the US: The Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, all of which had formally agreed in 1982to unite after several years of discussions. This union became the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The one thing to understand about Synods is that they really cannot be called separate denominations. There is only one body of Lutheran teaching, which is the Book of Concord. Any deviation from the teachings contained in the confessions would mean the church is no longer functionally Lutheran (similar to how deviation from the doctrine of Rome would make one non-Catholic, even if not formally declared by a bishop). The Synods are best seen as regional and/or cultural church bodies. For example, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod was composed of Germans who migrated to Missouri and the lower Midwest. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is made up of Germans who migrated to Wisconsin and the upper midwest. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod is made up of immigrants from Norway, etc.
 
4Squarebaby said:
The Foursquare Church and the Assemblies of God are against it, probably most others also. I would have to be at home and on my computer instead of this phone to see the declaration of faith and official church doctrine on the matter.
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Thank you for your response. I checked the AOG website and it is stated that it is most-assuredly pro-life. God Bless:)
 
Publisher said:
From what I have read…and the discussions I have been in the **“pro-life” position appeals to a more “emotional” response and questions “what if”…“it could be”…"**give morally prudent people pause(suggesting that if one does not share the stated view one is not “morally prudent”)…etc.

I understand you question the “soundness” of the “pro-choice postion”…and it gets down to the religious views one holds…there is no getting around that. Science has not reached a consensus on the issue of “when is a fetus a baby”. Science offers evidence and for the most part asks that one draws whatever conclusion one can from the evidence presented. So we’re back to one’s religious beliefs guiding one’s position.

I cannot morally demand that my position be held by someone who views that the perponderance of evidence leans more toward a “pro-choice” stance than a “pro-life” stance.

I can make the decisions for myself…I cannot make the decisions for others. I could cajole, insult, cast aspersions upon their moral character, call them “murderers” and the like to sway them to my position…but my faith prohibits such behavior…and in such behavior I find that morally objectionable.

I am a person of conscience…understood from the Catholic position I am very deficient in the area of a “well formed concience”…I do not take my position lightly…I don’t claim to know for a fact at what point a “fetus” becomes a “baby”…my beliefs govern at what time I would consider it to occur and I must live within that area of shadow…and if I can’t live within the shadow…I need to modify my belief system…so far I am not completely uncomfortable being in the shadow of doubt…I would not consent for my wife to terminate her pregnancy…when she was alive we shared similar belief concerning the matter…but if others take a differnt opinion and they are comfortable with that opinion AND their opinion is not in dire conflict with mine…I cannot condemn them…I can question them and seek to sway them to my position…but the whole point of being “pro-choice” is CHOICE…for one self. I do not…I will not DEMAND my position be adhered to to the exclusion of the other person from my life…my assistance…my prayers or welcoming them into the Meeting I attend.

“I see myself questioning the soundness of the pro-life position on the grounds of science, presuming that whatever our disagreements about religion we will agree that science is a compelling and trustworthy source of information about the physical universe.” But we will disagree what that “trustworthy source” implies as it is interpreted in our lives.

I am not completely comfortable with my position of “pro-choce”…it carries with it a weight of responsibility that at times is crushing…but I am very uncomfortable with taking a “pro-life” position, which in my estimation does not demand a response to the “greys” of life…**it sees life as “black and white”…**and it demonizes men and women who make difficult choices…it does not allow for healing, compassion, mercy…instead based on what I have read here, it calls for condemnation, ostricizing, anger, unfair judgemental attitudes…the “black and white” position calls for the abandonment to whatever fate a young woman finds herself once she chooses to terminate her pregnancy…I too react emotionally to such situation.

While this position does not satisfy your questions…it is the only position I can offer you…It is my postion…I can’t hold any other…I live in the “grey” and I understand the difficulty and responsibility it places on my shoulders to live “in the shadows” on imperfect knowledge of some things.
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The anti-abortion position is based on the natural law and science. Natural Law states that murder is wrong. Science teaches that when an egg and sperm cell come together, unique human life is present. It has it very own DNA. To kill that innocence human life is murder. It seems the only emotion/religious part of the argument is to believe murder is wrong. The pro-abortion position is based on what I call the “Chair is not a chair’ position.
There is something about a chair that makes it a chair. A Chair is more than a thing in which to seat and recline. It is more than just function. A small chair that would collapse when I sat on it would still be a chair for a small child. A small little dollhouse size chair is still a chair. There is something about a chair that makes it a chair.
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If a chair breaks its leg: is it still a chair? There are some who would say it is no longer a chair. Others would say it is a chair; and because we regard it as a chair we should also regard a stool as a chair. Was it a chair just before the leg broke?
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  1. A stool is a chair because we would continue to regard a broken chair as a chair.
  2. A broken chair is not a chair.
    If you disagree with both of these statements, you may be a right wing, conservative, nut job, only driven by your religious convictions.
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The pro-life position believes a chair is a chair even if it doesn’t meet their personal needs.
The pro-abortion position thinks a chair is only a chair when they desire it to be a chair.

The anti-abortion position does see life as “black and white” because either you have it or you don’t. You believe others have a right to life or you don’t. The fact that an abortion is wrong has NOTHING to do with how that person is treated after the fact; they are mutually exclusive; especially in the Catholic Church.

Any murder is CHOICE for oneself; Of course not for the other self.

I would suggest that the pro-abortion position is the irrational position based on emotion; a chair is only a chair when it ‘feels’ like it should be a chair to them; only when it meets their needs.
 
humble_maid said:
**Missouri Synod’s view of abortion? **
The LCMS believes that abortion is contrary to God’s Word and “is not a moral option except, except as a tragically unavoidable byproduct of medical procedures necessary to prevent the death of another human being, viz., the mother” (1979 Res. 3-02A). Official synodical resolutions and other materials on this topic are available from the Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR).
lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/CTCR/Abortion_Perspective2.pdf

Abortion: WELS Perspective
Resolution on Abortion
WHEREAS 1)
the Holy Scriptures clearly teach that the living yet unborn are persons in the sight of God and are under the protection of His commandment against murder (Job 10:9-11; Ex 20:13; Mt 5:21; Ge 9:6; Ps 139:13; Ps 51:5; Jer 1:5; Lk 1:41-44); and WHEREAS 2)our hearts are grieved over the millions of unborn who are being murdered each year through the sin of willful abortion; and WHEREAS 3)our synod has historically testified against abortion, except when it is medically necessary to save the life of the mother; therefore be it Resolved.
wels.net/about-wels/doctrinal-statements/abortion?page=0,0

Abortions: ELCA Perspective
Convictions of our Faith:
•Human beings, created in God’s image as male and female (Genesis 1:27-28), are persons of intrinsic value and dignity.
•All of life is a mysterious, awesome gift of God. Biblical passages express the God-given mystery of creation (Psalm 139; Jeremiah 1:5; Isaiah 40:26ff; Luke 1:41; Acts 17:24-25).

“Abortion ought to be an option only of last resort. Therefore, as a church we seek to reduce the need to turn to abortion as the answer to unintended pregnancies.
"The church recognizes that induced abortion is necessary in cases of rape, incest, where the mother’s life is threatened, when conceptions occur under dehumanizing conditions that are contrary to God’s purposes, circumstances of extreme fetal abnormality, which will result in severe suffering and very early death of an infant.”
“This church opposes ending intrauterine life when a fetus is developed enough to live outside a uterus with the aid of reasonable and necessary technology.”
elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements/Abortion.aspx#abc

Thank you to Triune who provided these links. From my own words, what I could conclude of each synod is that for the most part abortion is to be abhorred, except in the case where the mother’s life is threatened. In the instance of the ELCA they make quite a plea for the moral right to abort. The ELCA confesses that it is divided in its decision on abortion. "Induced abortion, the act of intentionally terminating a developing life in the womb, is one of the issues about which members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have serious differences.

Now I ask you, members of the CAF how does this make you feel. Can abortion be morally justified and can a church maintain it is Holy, One, Universal, and Apostolic if it is divided?
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My goodness, the ELCA position might as well read

“we oppose abortion except when the life of the mother is at state, or when the mother was rapped, or in cases of insest, or when the mother felt humiliated after sex, or when having a child doesn’t seem particularly convinent, or when the mother realises having a child on that particular delivery date might conflict with bingo night…”
 
I do not know if this has been brought up yet, but just look at the Religious Colation for Reperductive Choice’s website and that will tell you which protestant traditions support abortion. (rcrc.org) According to the site the Episcopal Church, PCUSA, UCC, and a couple of the UMC boards. Trust me, while the majority of Americans as pro-life the majority of mainline protestant groups are not, and most of the clergy and semenaries are not. This is one of the things that brought about my conversion to the Catholic Church. I am in a minority here at MTSO (Methodist Theological School in Ohio) as a pro-life student, and that saddens me. But that also tells me that there is still a lot of work to be down in advancing the culture of life!
 
crazzeto said:
My goodness, the ELCA position might as well read

“we oppose abortion except when the life of the mother is at state, or when the mother was rapped, or in cases of insest, or when the mother felt humiliated after sex, or when having a child doesn’t seem particularly convinent, or when the mother realises having a child on that particular delivery date might conflict with bingo night…”
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I suppose their criteria for having an abortion seems flaky and flimsy; yet they maintain that they ‘intrinsically’ know the value of humanity in perspective of God’s loving creation?😉
This type of reasoning on their part will appeal greatly to the female population, especially to liberal thinkers. God will have His Justice.

The thing that struck me was that they claim to be Holy, One, Universal(catholic), and Apostolic. It is easy to see that they are terribly wrong.
 
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