wfn.org | Adventists Vote Guidelines Document on Birth Control

["Beckett, John" <BeckettJ@gc.adventist.org>]

ANN Bulletin
Adventist News Network
Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters
September 30, 1999

The Annual Council of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted on September 29
a statement on birth control that provides guidelines on the Church's
position.

"We are affirming the individual's personal relationship to God," said Dr.
Allan Handysides, health director for the Adventist Church and chair of the
committee that drafted the document. "This is not a statement of dogma. We
are not assuming the authority to dictate, but to provide guidelines for
those who want to know where we stand. Planning for children in a Christian
family is a great responsibility. We have examined the various techniques
and identified those which the Church does not oppose and those which may be
termed 'birth control' but which cannot be supported."

Speaking for the Church's administration, Leo Ranzolin, general
vice-president, said that the document was especially applicable to those
faced with such decisions of family matters.

"It's appropriate for the Church to give guidance and some orientation to
Christian married couples coming from a wide variety of backgrounds and
cultures as to aspects of birth control," said Ranzolin.

The Church's Annual Council is composed of 330 representatives from all over
the world, meeting to direct the Church's affairs and to take actions on
behalf of the Church community.
The full text of the voted statement follows: 			

"Birth Control:  A Seventh-day Adventist Statement of Consensus"

Scientific technologies today permit greater control of human fertility and
reproduction than was formerly possible.  These technologies make possible
sexual intercourse with the expectation of pregnancy and childbirth greatly
reduced.  Christian married couples have a potential for fertility control
that has created many questions with wide-ranging religious, medical,
social, and political implications.  Opportunities and benefits exist as a
result of the new capabilities, as do challenges and drawbacks.  A number of
moral issues must be considered. Christians who ultimately must make their
own personal choices on these issues must be informed in order to make sound
decisions based on biblical principles.
Among the issues to be considered is the question of the appropriateness of
human intervention in the natural biological processes of human
reproduction.  If any intervention is appropriate, then additional questions
regarding what, when, and how must be addressed.  Other related concerns
include:

* likelihood of increased sexual immorality which the availability and use
of birth control methods may promote; 

* gender dominance issues related to the sexual privileges and prerogatives
of both women and men; 

* social issues, including the right of a society to encroach upon personal
freedom in the interest of the society at large and the burden of economic
and educational support for the disadvantaged; and 

* stewardship issues related to population growth and the use of natural
resources.

A statement of moral considerations regarding birth control must be set in
the broader context of biblical teachings about sexuality, marriage,
parenthood, and the value of children-and an understanding of the
interconnectedness between these issues.  With an awareness of the diversity
of opinion within the Church, the following biblically based principles are
set forth to educate and to guide in decision making.

1.	Responsible stewardship.  God created human beings in His own image,
male and female, with capacities to think and to make decisions (Isa 1:18;
Josh 24:15; Deut 30:15-20). God gave human beings dominion over the earth
(Gen 1:26, 28).  This dominion requires overseeing and caring for nature.
Christian stewardship also requires taking responsibility for human
procreation.  Sexuality, as one of the aspects of human nature over which
the individual has stewardship, is to be expressed in harmony with God's
will (Exod 20:14; Gen 39:9; 
Lev 20:10-21; 1 Cor 6:12-20).

2.	Procreative purpose.  The perpetuation of the human family is one of
God's purposes for human sexuality (Gen 1:28).  Though it may be inferred
that marriages are generally intended to yield offspring, Scripture never
presents procreation as an obligation of every couple in order to please
God.  However, divine revelation places a high value on children and
expresses the joy to be found in parenting (Matt 19:14; Ps 127:3).  Bearing
and rearing children help parents to understand God and to develop
compassion, caring, humility, and unselfishness 
(Ps 103:13; Luke 11:13).

3.	Unifying purpose.  Sexuality serves a unifying purpose in marriage
that is God-ordained and distinguishable from the procreative purpose (Gen
2:24).  Sexuality in marriage is intended to include joy, pleasure, and
delight (Eccl 9:9; Prov 5:18, 19; Song of Sol 4:16-5:1). God intends that
couples may have ongoing sexual communion apart from procreation (1 Cor
7:3-5), a communion that forges strong bonds and protects a marriage partner
from an inappropriate relationship with someone other than his or her spouse
(Prov 5:15-20; Song of Sol 8:6, 7).  In God's design, sexual intimacy is not
only for the purpose of conception. Scripture does not prohibit married
couples from enjoying the delights of conjugal relations while taking
measures to prevent pregnancy.

4.	Freedom to choose.  In creation-and again through the redemption of
Christ-God has given human beings freedom of choice, and He asks them to use
their freedom responsibly (Gal 5:1, 13).  In the divine plan, husband and
wife constitute a distinct family unit, having both the freedom and the
responsibility to share in making determinations about their family (Gen
2:24).  Married partners should be considerate of each other in making
decisions about birth control, being willing to consider the needs of the
other as well as one's own (Phil 2:4).  For those who choose to bear
children, the procreative choice is not without limits. Several factors must
inform their choice, including the ability to provide for the needs of
children (1 Tim 5:8); the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of the
mother and other care givers (3 John 2; 1 Cor 6:19; Phil 2:4; Eph 5:25); the
social and political circumstances into which children will be born (Matt
24:19); and the quality of life and the global resources available.  We are
stewards of God's creation and therefore must look beyond our own happiness
and desires to consider the needs of others (Phil 2:4).

5.	Appropriate methods of birth control.  Moral decision making about
the choice and use of the various birth control agents must stem from an
understanding of their probable effects on physical and emotional health,
the manner in which the various agents operate, and the financial
expenditure involved.  A variety of methods of birth control-including
barrier methods, spermicides, and sterilization-prevent conception and are
morally acceptable.  Some other birth-control methods1  may prevent the
release of the egg (ovulation), may prevent the union of egg and sperm
(fertilization), or may prevent attachment of the already fertilized egg
(implantation).  Because of uncertainty about how they will function in any
given instance, they may be morally suspect for people who believe that
protectable human life begins at fertilization. However, since the majority
of fertilized ova naturally fail to implant or are lost after implantation,
even when birth control methods are not being used, hormonal methods of
birth control and IUDs, which represent a similar process, may be viewed as
morally acceptable. Abortion, the intentional termination of an established
pregnancy, is not morally acceptable for purposes of birth control.

6.	 Misuse of birth control.  Though the increased ability to manage
fertility and protect against sexually transmitted disease may be useful to
many married couples, birth control can be misused.  For example, those who
would engage in premarital and extramarital sexual relations may more
readily indulge in such behaviors because of the availability of birth
control methods.  The use of such methods to protect sex outside of marriage
may reduce the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and/or pregnancy.  Sex
outside of marriage, however, is both harmful and immoral, whether or not
these risks have been diminished.

7.	A redemptive approach.  The availability of birth-control methods
makes education about sexuality and morality even more imperative.  Less
effort should be put forth in condemnation and more in education and
redemptive approaches that seek to allow each individual to be persuaded by
the deep movings of the Holy Spirit.

 1Some current examples of these methods include intrauterine devices
(IUDs), hormone pills (including the "morning-after pill"), injections, or
implants.  Questions about these methods should be referred to a medical
professional.

-end-
----------------------
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