wfn.org | Possible battle looms over abortion policy

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7030 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

29-January-2002
02041

Possible battle looms over abortion policy

Social-witness panel OKs, then waffles on late-term conditions

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - What a difference a phrase makes!

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), responding to a request from the General Assembly that it "clarify" the church's policy on late-term abortion, added language to a draft report saying that a viable fetus may be aborted because of "a lack of resources or commitment to care for" the child.

The committee took the action on Jan. 26, voting 6-5 to add the provision to a carefully worked-out joint report with the Advisory Committee on Litigation (ACL).

That raised the possibility that the two committees would send separate, conflicting reports to this year's General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and that pro-life Presbyterians would strenuously oppose the ACSWP report.

To head off such a tiff, ACSWP voted during the closing minutes of its Jan. 24-27 meeting to "reconsider" its action. Although it didn't rescind the wording, it authorized its Advice and Counsel group to meet with the ACL to try to agree on a compromise report.
	
The Rev. Peter Sulyok, the ACSWP coordinator, told the Presbyterian News Service that the negotiators have the authority to remove the controversial phrase in order to reach an agreement with the ACL.

The Rev. Mark Tammen, who handles constitutional issues for the Office of the General Assembly and staffs the ACL, had advised ACSWP, "Adding that language will probably result in separate proposals going to the General Assembly."

The Rev. Nile Harper, an ACSWP member from Ann Arbor, MI, had complained that the added language created a loophole "you could drive a truck through."

The Rev. Ron Stone, an ACSWP member who he teaches at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, defended the addition (which he had proposed). He said the new provision "picks up pieces of past policy and affirms the Presbyterian ethos (of freedom of choice)."

Committee member Jan Sharpless, of Sacramento, CA, agreed - reluctantly. "Words like 'resources' and 'commitment' can get us all tied up in knots," she said, "but the decision is so intensely personal that it must be honored."

The 2000 GA, acting on a request from the ACL, sought clarification of the PC(USA)'s policy on late-term abortion and asked the two committees to prepare a joint report for the 2002 GA. Overtures to last year's Assembly from the presbyteries of Salem and East Tennessee, asking for clarification of the policy, were also referred to the two committees.

The 1997 GA offered "moral guidance" to the church on the issue, saying that "the procedure known as intact dilation and extraction (commonly called 'partial-birth' abortion) of a baby who could live outside the womb is of grave moral concern and should be considered only if the mother's physical life is endangered by the pregnancy."

Terry Schlossberg, executive director of Presbyterians Pro-Life, who attended the ACSWP meeting, said the 1997 Assembly's allowance for "limited exceptions" was expanded by the ACSWP action "to the near-boundless."

Earlier statements from the denomination have clearly affirmed a woman's right to choose in cases of problem pregnancy, but said abortion becomes morally problematic at the point of fetal viability. The 1983 GA said, "We affirm that elective abortion should be available before fetal viability, but only in the rarest instances after that point

Other ACSWP reports

The committee added finishing touches to several other reports it will submit to the 214th GA, which convenes June 15 in Columbus, OH, including:

*  The annual Human Rights Update, which this year will be published on the PC(USA) Web site, with printed copies available on request.

*  A Resolution on the Advocacy on Behalf of the Uninsured, which reaffirms the church's previous support for universal health care for all U.S. residents, urges the government to expand access to affordable health care, and calls on appropriate church agencies step up its advocacy on behalf of the uninsured, especially children and families.

*  A Resolution on Challenges to Global Security, which examines threats to the international system for controlling arms and arms development, including President Bush's proposed National Missile Defense System and controls on biological and chemical weapons.

*  A Resolution on Restorative Justice, reaffirming the PC(USA)'s commitment to restorative justice, which is defined as "addressing the hurts and needs of the victim, the offender and the community in such a way that all ... might be healed."

One additional paper, on Africa, will be held over until the 2003 GA so that additional editorial work can be done and funds can be found or raised to implement its recommendations.
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