Why Is The Presbyterian Church Supporting Abortion?

In finance, there’s a saying often attributed to Warren Buffett that says: “When the tide goes out, you see who was swimming naked.”

A similar application is about to apply to Conservatives and Christians, because many are RINOs and CINOs…

Republicans In Name Only

and

Christians In Name Only

We’ve learned a lot about the RINOs since President Trump came onto the scene in 2015.

Now we’re about to learn who’s a CINO.

The first to “out” themselves?

The Presbyterians.

So sad.

Check out what they just posted:

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. In a 6 to 3 vote, the Supreme Court overturned the historic Roe v. Wade decision. We are deeply outraged, saddened, and mortified by this decision! https://t.co/I9X2of3Hfz

— PC(USA) Office of Public Witness (@PCUSAWashington) June 24, 2022

Yes, folks….that’s your Presbyterian Church saying how they are “DEEPLY” outraged, saddened, and mortified by the Dobbs decision!

Really?

You know who else has all of those emotions about the decision?

Moloch.

Google it.

Here is more info on the account that posted that…

It’s the Presbyterian Advocacy and Public Policy Office:

Mark Taylor summed it up perfectly with this post:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – Trust women, support abortion rights! https://t.co/f88xmdvIr9

— Dr Deborah Meinke #theearthisourhome (@drdebmeinke) June 25, 2022

From VoterVoice.net, read this stunning position from the Church:

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In a 6 to 3 vote, the Supreme Court overturned the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which confirmed a pregnant person’s constitutional right to choose whether or not to terminate during the early months of their pregnancy. We are deeply outraged, saddened, and mortified by this decision!

This is one of the few times that the Supreme Court has invalidated a precedent decision previously considered a constitutional right. While this decision does not make abortion illegal, it removes constitutional protection giving states the ability to issue bans. Over the past few years, states have passed laws that place extreme restrictions on a pregnant person’s legal ability to obtain an abortion, some issuing a complete ban. States like Kentucky where our denomination is headquartered, have enacted “trigger” laws that will go into effect immediately limiting or banning access to care.  The overturning of Roe v. Wade will have drastic negative impacts on individuals around the nation, with the greatest burden falling on low-income communities of color.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) believes that states should not be involved in creating hurdles to accessing abortion. At the 220th General Assembly in 2012 we affirmed, “no law should impose criminal penalties against any [person] who chooses or physician who performs a medically safe abortion…, and no law should sanction any action intended to harm or harass those persons contemplating or deciding to have an abortion.”

We have long held that “God alone is Lord of the conscience” and has endowed all humans with the moral agency to make choices. This is no less true for those making decisions about whether and when to have children. We believe “the artificial or induced termination of a pregnancy is a matter of careful ethical decision of the patient … and therefore should not be restricted by law.”

We urge Presbyterians everywhere to affirm that which our church believes and tell the Biden administration to prioritize a proactive abortion agenda ASAP. The Biden Administration must use its executive authorities to guarantee reproductive freedom. A proactive agenda would ensure that everyone, regardless of race, gender identity, age, income, ZIP code, insurance status, disability status, sexuality, and more would have equitable access to abortion care.

The Presbyterian Church celebrates the diversity of all genders and recognizes that access to full reproductive healthcare is a right deserved by anyone who bears children. Bodily autonomy is a basic human right that cannot be silenced nor legislated away. We stand with the words of our General Assembly and our fundamental belief in God’s sovereignty. We must never forget that as people of God we are called to speak for justice and stand with the oppressed. This is an opportunity to do so for all who are once again most marginalized in our community and our country. We remain a Matthew 25 church led by a savior who said, “As you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me.”

Here was their full post advocating for Abortion, from PCUSA.org:

On the very day the Supreme Court took away a woman’s right to choose in several states, the Health, Safety and Benefits Committee twice voted on items that reaffirm the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s stand on choice and reproductive justice.

Hours after news of the high court’s decision made its way into committee members’ smartphones, the committee, by wide margins, approved HSB-03, “A Resolution on Reproductive Justice” from the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns, and HSB-11, “On Affirming Reproductive Justice,” a commissioner’s resolution.

The latter included an amendment urging to Board of Pensions “to continue to develop the policies and practices that will ensure that Plan members be able to access reproductive health care and abortion equitably, no matter the state they live in.”

The Rev. Dr. Frank Spencer, president of the Board of Pensions, said the Board welcomes the amendment.

“We recognized that [today’s Supreme Court] decision was likely to come,” he said. The Board of Pensions already has “certain travel expense reimbursements in place,” Spencer said.

“We are all carrying some heavy weight today,” said Madison McKinney, the ACWC’s co-chair. “We are here for a reason. It’s not by accidental timing the Supreme Court decision happened today.”

Speaking on behalf of HSB-03, McKinney said reproductive justice, a term coined by a dozen Black women nearly 30 years ago, focuses on reproductive rights and social justice.

“We wrote this [resolution] two years ago,” McKinney said. “Now it’s a crisis situation for so many people.”

“What is the Presbyterian Church willing to do?” McKinney asked the committee. “Let us sit in this pain and rise together in anger to fuel the change that is needed.”

Earlier, committee member the Rev. Michelle Bartel of the Presbytery of Wabash Valley was called on to pray. “Lord, so many of us anticipate incredible suffering. We anticipate that people are going to become even poorer. We anticipate that this will certainly hurt Black people, Indigenous people, people of color more than it will those of us who are white.”

“So, what we want to offer you first, O Lord, is our laments — our sorrow, the loss and the grief that comes with such a change in our country’s way of doing things … But Lord, what we really want to do right now is walk forward into hope. That’s the only place it’s going to be.

“Help us to learn the actual things we can actually do for actual people to manifest your love and to exhibit your realm of love and goodness and peace and joy and justice in the world as we are called to do.”

Family leave policy

Committee members also overwhelmingly approved HSB-06, “On Amending G-2.0284 and Recommendations Regarding a Family Leave Policy,” from the Family Leave Policy Task Force. It also determined that HSB-07, from Hudson River Presbytery, was answered by its action on HSB-06.

HSB-06 says that terms of call for ministers of Word and Sacrament shall include a minimum of eight weeks paid family medical leave and defines family leave as including leave to accommodate the birth, foster placement or adoption of a child; leave to provide care to an ill or disabled family member; and leave to heal following a loss or tragic event.

Church pastors “are our leaders,” said Contina Lundy, co-moderator of the Family Leave Policy Task Force, who spoke to the committee by telephone. “If we can be considerate of what they give us, then we need them to be healthy in mind, body and spirit” in order to lead congregations.

“That’s what the policy is all about,” said JoAnne Sharp, co-moderator of ACWC and an advisor to the task force, “the balance between family and service to the church.”

More on mental health

On Thursday, the committee passed three measures strengthening mental health ministry across the denomination. On Friday, committee members unanimously passed a fourth, HSB-10, a commissioner’s resolution called “On Addressing Mental Health Challenges at Every Level of the Church.”

The resolution commends the Board of Pensions for its work “in widely interpreting a focus on wholeness and mental health across the church.” It encourages the Board of Pensions to “focus further attention on the promotion of mental health initiatives … specifically with respect to [Plan members’] culture, race and ethnicity as they continue to exercise Christ’s compassionate response to Plan members who are hurting.” 

It also urges the Board of Pensions to commission a study “to examine and propose policy and process changes, if needed, to ensure compassion … and response to requests from Plan members for mental health assistance and/or psychiatric disability.”

The Board of Pensions’ “commitment to mental health parity is huge,” Spencer told the committee.

Next up

The committee has two items of business scheduled for its final day on Saturday. HSB-05 includes the recommendations from the Survivors of Sexual Misconduct Task Force. HSB-09, from the Special Committee to Study the Reformed Perspective on Christian Education, is on requiring boundary training for certified Christian educators.