Position on Abortion
“Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.” Isaiah 49:1b
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5a
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:41
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” Genesis 1:27a
“What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” Psalms 8:5-6
“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” Deuteronomy 30:19b-20
Christians rely on God’s revealed Word, the Bible, for determining truth, and we look to it as our only infallible guide for faith and action. It is our authority for understanding the distinction between good and evil and for determining what is moral and immoral.
Anglicans for Life, rejects abortion. We are saddened at the number of unborn children who are prematurely taken from their mothers’ wombs. Since abortion’s legalization in 1973, it has become the most common surgical procedure for women in American history, reaching what might be termed epidemic proportions. Each year, 1.5 million abortions are performed, ending the lives of those who are “known in the womb” by our Lord.
Anglicans for Life calls on the Anglican and Episcopal Churches to take positions that are consistent with scriptural direction and condemns the act of abortion because:
God places a high value on human beings. Human beings are made uniquely in the image of God. We are not only distinct from the rest of creation, but also are rulers and stewards of everything else created by God. Conception and the resulting birth of a baby are not simply acts that continue the human life. Rather, conception is a blessing of God. This fruit of the love between a husband and wife is one evidence of God’s love and sovereignty. The birth of a baby is a gift from God.
The meaning and the purpose God has for each human life begins before birth. Scripture commonly refers to conception, rather than birth, as the moment of our beginning. God speaks of us as known, cared for, protected and loved by Him before birth. He often announces His specific purpose for individuals while they are yet unborn. The Hebrew word yeled and the
Greek word brephos, used to refer to newborns and youth, are used in Scripture to refer to the unborn. This teaches us the continuity of existence before and after birth.
God forbids us to kill innocent human life. Scripture makes no distinction regarding our humanness, born and unborn. Therefore, it forbids the destruction of innocent human life including unborn babies.
God requires us to Protect and care for the needy and helpless. The duty to “bear one another’s burdens” applies to pregnancy exactly as to every other aspect of human need. It is our task as Christian disciples and servants even in the most desperate of circumstances, to use the resources God has provided to find solutions to problem pregnancies that allow both mother and baby to life and prosper.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The Episcopal Church states that it “emphatically opposes” abortion for such reasons of convenience as birth control, family planning and sex selection. Yet in its Stance on Abortion, the Church acknowledges the legal “right” of every woman to an abortion and expresses its “deep conviction” that legally the “individual conscience” of a woman must be “respected.” Anglicans for Life is concerned that, by upholding such “rights”, the Church forgets God’s concern for the unborn and their rights.
Anglicans for Life
promotes the Biblical view of the sanctity of human life
at every stage of biological development
and seeks to influence our Church and culture
to embrace this Biblical attitude
morally, legally and in practice.
Anglicans for Life and its chapters reach out
to protect life and offer compassion
In communities across the nation.
