wfn.org | Possible battle over abortion policy averted

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Note #7048 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

08-February-2002
02062

Possible battle over abortion policy averted

Litigation and Social Witness committees delete troublesome provision

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - The Advisory Committee on Litigation (ACL) and the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) have resolved differences concerning their joint response to a request from the General Assembly that it "clarify" the church's policy on post-viability and late-term abortion issues. 

Following careful discussion and debate during a Feb. 7 meeting of the two committees, an agreement was reached to delete a provision added by the ACSWP on Jan. 26, saying that a viable fetus may be aborted because of a "lack of resources or commitment to care for a child."

That raised the possibility that the two committees would send separate, conflicting reports to this summer's General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church (USA). To resolve potential difference, the ACSWP authorized continuing consultation with the ACL.

The agreement between ACSWP and ACL is also expected to advert the possibility that pro-life Presbyterians would strenuously oppose the ACSWP report.

 The joint language that will be recommended to the 214th GA by the ACL and the ACSWP now reads: 

"The ending of a pregnancy after the point of fetal viability is a matter of grave moral concern to us all, but may be undertaken only after prayer, and when necessary, to save the life of the woman, to preserve the woman's health in circumstances of a serious risk to the health of the woman, to avoid fetal suffering as a result of untreatable life-threatening genetic anomalies, or in cases of incest or rape."

The Rev. Mark Tammen, who handles constitutional issues for the Office of the General Assembly and staffs the ACL, said, "I am pleased that the committees were able to reach agreement as to a proposal for the 214th General Assembly. I pray it will be helpful to the commissioners as they grapple with these important yet potentially divisive issues."

Last year's General Assembly, 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 this year's 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.

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 1992 GA said, "Under circumstances in which abortion is the decision, it is preferable for it to happen earlier rather than later." 

The 1997 GA offered "a word of counsel" 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."

Judy Woods, chair of the ACL, praised both committees for their diligence in resolving the matter.

"We genuinely strove to clarify the church's policy in a way that would help people so they can be true to their faith when confronted with these issues," Woods said from her law office in Indianapolis, IN. "We strove to come up with a policy recommendation that reflects the complexity of the issues.  My hope is that people will prayerfully consider what we proposed."

Ruy O. Costa, chair of the ACSWP, said he feels the two committees collaborated well in working through controversial issues.

 "I believe the joint report clarifies the application of existing policy to issues related to post-viability and late term abortion," Costa said.  "In so doing, we fulfill the assignment received from the Assembly in 2000."

Both committees struggled with both the complexity and the personal nature of their task before coming to a final resolution acceptable to all, the Rev. Peter Sulyok, the ACSWP coordinator, told the Presbyterian News Service.  

"They squarely faced their responsibility to interpret the policies to provide personal guidance for those who face difficult ethical choices," said Sulyok, "and to provide a public witness for those who make or interpret laws and public policies about abortion and problem pregnancies. Their clear and concise work, rooted in the church's policy, offers the Assembly the clarity it sought."
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