Monday, June 01, 2009

General Convention on Abortion

The murder of Dr. George Tiller, a physician who provided safe abortions, will bring again to the forefront issues of abortion and of appropriate responses. Readers should be aware that the General Convention has spoken to abortion (most fully in resolution 1994-A054 here; to post-abortion stress (in resolution 2000-D083 here); and to violence against abortion clinics (resolution 1988-D124 here). I have written before about this in more detail, but I thought we might want again to recall how General Convention has addressed these issues.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am not supposed to be here, but I am. I am 23. My dad and mom and me are catholics but dad and mom support the right to a abortion. My dad has debated yhis for over 40 years in person, on TV and on radio. I wish he could be here, but he is holding this blog open so I can express my opinions and receive good advice without any interference.
He has written thousands of words on his blog about abortion. I think his main point is that both choice and anti-abortion advocates are reasoning very badly. One side says a person is created when you have sex even if it is just one cell. My dad and mom think this is very stupid. A person is not one cell nor a group of cells with no nerves or brain. The choice group says a lady can have an abortion anytime before the baby is born. This is stupid too.
But both sides refuse to give and inch for fear their whole position might fall. Dad calls it the slippery slope argument-on both sides. Dad says there is no issue that does not have degrees.
I'm over my head and if dad sees this he will think I could say it better. BTW neither my dad or mom has ever had any one in their families that have had abortion.

Marshall Scott said...

Little Brother (it is one of you, isn't it?), this is fine. You've been civil and expressed an opinion.

Your dad has a point. In fact, when people actually look at survey results, instead of at reports about survey results from one side or another, the results are pretty consistent: most people think abortion is a bad thing, and also that sometimes it's the least bad thing and so needs to be legal and safe and available. The big majority of folks fall somewhere "in the degrees."

Most churches are that way, too. Some are more anxious that folks who have reason for an abortion won't have access to safe and legal abortions. Some are more anxious that a few women will have abortions for poor reasons or because they've been forced. Most, however, understand that there are medical reasons in which an abortion can be the least bad option, while there are also abortions that are the result of bad reasoning.

Unfortunately, it's the folks at either end who do most of the arguing, and not the majority "in the degrees."

Anonymous said...

Yes, it is a little brother. Dad says we are in good hands. Thank you.

Marshall Scott said...

Ah, it appears there is a new Little Brother. I have received the question. Like the questions from other Little Brothers, I think it would be better dealt with "in private," as it were. The question isn't bad, nor is the questioner. I just think as a pastor that emailing me would be the better approach.

I haven't thrown your comment away. I just haven't put it up here. The person that helped you post here can help you email me, and I will answer.