wfn.org | Assembly acts on abortion, other issues

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Note #6715 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

15-June-2001
GA01155

Assembly acts on abortion, other issues

by Nancy Rodman

LOUISVILLE, June 15 - The 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) Friday morning declined to honor the request of the Bills and
Overtures Committee to arrest the report of the Health and Social Issues
Committee and kept going until nearly lunchtime, wrestling with issues
related to abortion, mental health benefits, and care for older adults.

The Assembly adopted moral and ethical guidelines for stem cell and fetal
tissue research.  Recognizing both the great progress in stem cell and fetal
tissue research and the complexity of the moral issues involved, the
guidelines offer moral and ethical guidance on the use of tissue derived
from fetuses, subjecting it to appropriate limitations.  Under the
guidelines, the decision to have an abortion will be separate from the
decision to donate fetal tissue and the sale or commercialization of fetal
tissue will be legally prohibited.  Research with stem cells obtained from
human embryos will be conducted only when the goals to be accomplished are
compelling and unreachable by other means.  As with the use of fetal tissue,
sale or commercialization of embryonic tissue will be legally prohibited.

	In other abortion-related business, the Assembly 

* declined to establish a special committee to conduct a study of abortion
in a biblical and theological context.  The last such study was completed in
1992.

* declined to direct the Board of Pensions to require notification of a
parent at least forty-eight hours in advance of any abortion performed on a
minor daughter.

* referred two abortion-related matters to the Advisory Committee on
Litigation and the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.  Both
concern late-term abortions, an issue already before the two advisory
committees which expect to report to the 214th General Assembly next year.

	As a result of action taken during the Friday morning business session, the
General Assembly will advocate passage of legislation requiring health
insurance plans to provide mental health benefits in full parity with
medical and surgical benefits, directing the Office of the Stated Clerk to
advocate for passage of such legislation in the 18 states lacking it.  The
Assembly also directed the Office of the Stated Clerk to advocate for
passage of the federal Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act (S.796)
co-sponsored by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN.

Additionally, the Assembly urged the Board of Pensions of the PC (U.S.A.) to
evaluate annually issues of parity between coverage for mental health and
medical and surgical benefits under plans offered by the Board of Pensions,
and to include its evaluation in its annual report to the General Assembly. 
In a statement during debate, the Board said that it fully complies with the
intentions of the Domenici-Wellstone bill.

By approving a Resolution on the Ministry of Caregiving in Relation to Older
Adults the Assembly enacted a number of measures to strengthen the church's
care of its older members including the parish nursing program which would
be affirmed as a model for caregiving ministry and established or
strengthened in partnership with community agencies.  Middle governing
bodies would, among other measures, offer ministries to retired pastors and
education and training to meet needs at the local level.  Among the measures
directed to congregations are observation of Older Adult Week, development
of support and other programs, training of those responsible for visiting in
spiritual enrichment visiting, and expansion of their awareness of new ways
of caregiving, especially as found in the racial ethnic groups of the
church.

	The Assembly recommended that the General Assembly Council study the
publication "A Message on Suicide Prevention" of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America and make recommendations to the 214th General Assembly in
2002 for its potential use in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  The
Assembly commended the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America suicide
prevention statement for study.

	The General Assembly deferred until 2006 any end-of-life policy
development, but it will organize and host a national dialogue in 2002-2003
on the theological issues related to end-of-life care.  That dialogue will
be followed over a two-year period by similar presbytery-wide, or regional,
dialogues and resources will be made available.

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