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Last revised: October 13, 1997
Does any creature, born or unborn, have an inherent right to use someone else's body? Of course not! Whose body is it anyway? A woman has a right to say "yes" or to say "no" to a pregnancy, a right to say "I will decide. IT'S NOBODY'S BODY BUT MINE."
NOBODY'S BODY BUT MINE
Most mainstream Protestant Churches support the right of a woman, or a couple, to terminate a pregnancy. There are probably as many positions on abortion as there are Protestant churches. But although the teaching varies from one faith to another in that the morally permissible grounds for abortion are somewhat different for each, almost all are willing to leave the final decision about the matter to the people most intimately involved.
The Protestant religious bodies which support the right to abortion, at least in some circumstances, include: American Baptist Churches, U.S.A.; American Friends Service Committee; Lutheran Church in America; Presbyterian Church; Reorganized LDS; Unitarian Universalist; United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church; the Episcopal Church; the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Moravian Church in America.
Protestant Churches which oppose abortion include the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, Lutheran Church-Wisconsin Synod and Southern Baptist.
The teaching of two denominations -- Methodist and Presbyterian -- are representative of most mainstream Protestant denominations. A statement in the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church reads: ... "our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for whom devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy." Methodist teaching is that, "Governmental laws and regulations do not provide all the guidance required by the informed Christian conscience. Therefore, a decision concerning abortion should be made....by the parties involved, with medical, pastoral and other appropriate counsel."
According to the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., "Problem pregnancies are the result of so many complicated and unsolvable circumstances that we have neither the wisdom nor the authority to decide each situation...We affirm the ability and responsibility of women, guided by the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, to make good moral choices in regard to problem pregnancies...Possible justifying circumstances would include medical indications of severe physical or mental deformity, conception as a result of rape or incest, or conditions under which the physical or mental health of either woman or child would be gravely threatened...Presbyterians, like other Protestants, hold varying points of view about when human life begins...Therefore, if abortion is the decision, the earlier the better."
Of course, Protestantism does not speak with one voice. In an impassioned argument for his opposition to abortion, one Pastor of the Lutheran Church - Wisconsin Synod explained that his church's anti-abortion position is based on scripture and cited the 5th Commandment - "Thou Shalt Not Kill". This pastor also referred to Psalm 139:13-15, which reads in part, "For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb...Thou knowest me right well; my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance." He explained that, based on this passage, the Bible teaches that life begins at conception. "Therefore," he said, "abortion is wrong at any point". He added that an exception could be made when a pregnancy was likely to result in the death of the mother.
According to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, there are several problems with use of scripture to oppose abortion. The quote from Psalm 139, for example, is out of context. Both the old and new Testaments use the language of metaphor and myth. Correct interpretation of any portion of the Bible demands that we examine the entire text - its theme, historical background and framework. To use a poetic reference such as that in the Psalm as if it were a literal description of the beginning of personhood is to confuse poetry with a factual explanation of stages of gestation. To quote Dr. Paul D. Simmons in "Personhood, the Bible and the Abortion Debate", "There is absolutely no intention or purpose in the text to deal with the question of elective abortion or whether the fetus is a person... (the passage) reflects the awareness that...the entire creative process is a source of mystery and awe..."
The 5th Commandment is stated in many faiths as "Thou Shalt Do No Murder" rather than "Thou Shalt Not Kill". Murder is defined as the deliberate killing of a human person and there is a difference between actual personhood and anticipatory personhood. A fetus is not yet a person because it has not yet developed the capacity for feeling and thought that are the distinguishing characteristics of a human being. Of course, the woman who is willingly and happily pregnant naturally thinks of her fetus as little human being. But, as Dr. Simmons puts it, "To experience a fetus as a person is not the same as discovering the personhood of the fetus. The fetus is not a person by any objective criteria, but may most certainly be ascribed personhood on highly subjective grounds".
Although Protestant churches have some differences of opinion about circumstances under which abortion is an allowable option, most agree on one point: they oppose legislation to restrict abortions on the grounds that laws do not address the root of the problem of unwanted pregnancy. Rather than condemn the woman who feels driven to resort to abortion, they feel that a far more constructive approach is for the churches and the greater society to do everything possible to eliminate the occasion for abortion.
Amen to that.
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