Major Topic: Abortion
Jana House

The question of when life begins is the foundational question that frames the abortion debate. We believe life begins at conception. Stated differently, we believe that God and His word place supreme value on the preborn human life in the womb. So much that in Exodus 21:22-25 God determined the punishment if a baby in a Mother’s womb was struck by two men fighting and the baby should be harmed or a premature birth induced.

God indicates full personhood and a personal relationship with the preborn. Obviously noted in Isaiah 49:1.

“The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my Mother He named my name.”

Furthermore, the Lord makes plans for the pre-born human. These plans are seen in Jeremiah 1:4-5. God consecrated and appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet long before he ever took his first breath outside the womb. Therefore, who are we to extinguish the plans of the Lord for His creation? Do we have the right to thwart the Lord for our conveniences?

Most notably the bible describes the remarkable scene when pregnant Elizabeth greeted pregnant Mary. John, Elizabeth’s baby, was 6 months preborn, and Mary was only weeks into her pregnancy when John the Baptist showed joy, relationship, and expressiveness by leaping in Elizabeth’s womb at the recognition of the weeks-old gestational Jesus the Christ preborn. Not yet viable outside the womb was our Savior of the world. A testimony for unplanned, very young teenage pregnancy? This baby was not Mary’s plan for her life. Yet, we all now can receive eternal life through her unplanned pregnancy.

We believe that God’s breathed word, the Bible, is the world’s standard of truth. Our God is pro-life from cover to cover in His word. Genesis 2 begins with the tree of life, and the Bible ends with the tree of life in Revelation 22. There is not an argument made in the Bible ever for abortion. Yet, every one of us is living proof today that God himself valued your life from conception. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-15 NIV). Believer, open your Bible and digest your creator’s words; hear God’s heart for the value he places on the preborn life he created. What God creates He says is good. Genesis 1.

COMPARISON OF GMC to UMC on the UNBORN:

GMC
The Transitional Book of Discipline ¶ 202 reads.

“OUR WITNESS TO THE WORLD.
1) We believe that life is a holy gift of God whose beginnings and endings are set by God, and that it is the particular duty of believers to protect those who may be powerless to protect themselves, including the unborn, those with disabilities or serious illness, and the aged (Genesis 2:7, Leviticus 19:32, Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 1:41-44).
2) The sacredness of all life compels us to resist the practice of abortion except in the cases of tragic conflicts of life against life when the wellbeing of the mother and the child are at stake. We do not accept abortion as a means of birth control or gender selection, and we call upon all Christians as disciples of the Lord of Life to prayerfully consider how we can support those women facing unintended pregnancies without adequate care, counsel, or resources (Exodus 22:23, Psalm 139:13-16, James 1:27).”

The Reverend Billy Graham said, “Throughout God’s Word, it’s clear that human life is precious to Him. More than ever, we need Biblical answers to questions regarding abortion and the sanctity of life. All too often the right to life of the unborn child has been tragically lost in a tidal wave of cries for the “right” to choose.”

UMC
The United Methodist Church’s official position on abortion in the Book of Discipline (2016) states:

“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 and the unborn child.” The Social Principles go on to assert, “We recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases, we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures by certified medical providers.”

According to Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, a United Methodist clergyperson, the vice president of Good News, and a member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association Global Council, that statement will likely be changed in a post-separation UMC (Lambrecht, Tom). The official position of the Global Methodist Church, as stated in their transitional book of discipline, is the belief in the sacredness of all life and resisting the practice of abortion except in the cases of tragic conflicts of life against life. The GMC does not accept abortion as a means of birth control or gender selection (“THE TRANSITIONAL BOOK OF DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE THE GLOBAL METHODIST CHURCH”). All Christians are called to support those women facing unintended pregnancies without adequate care and counsel.

STATEMENT ON ABORTION

In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Roe v. Wade that the Constitution of the United States generally protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion (“Jane ROE, et al., Appellants, v. Henry WADE.”). In Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992), the Supreme Court affirmed the basic ruling of Roe v. Wade and added that states may regulate abortions to protect the health of the mother and the life of the fetus and may outlaw abortions of “viable” fetuses (Warren). On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and a subsequent 1992 decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion of the Court “Abortion presents a profound moral issue on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views. Some believe fervently that a human person comes into being at conception and that abortion ends an innocent life. Others feel just as strongly that any regulation of abortion invades a woman’s right to control her own body and prevents women from achieving full equality. Still others in a third group think that abortions should be allowed under some but not all circumstances and those within this group hold a variety of views about the restrictions that should be imposed….We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision….It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives. The authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives” (Marshall and Hale). What does that mean for the Methodist Church?

The Reverend Billy Graham said, “Throughout God’s Word, it’s clear that human life is precious to Him. More than ever, we need Biblical answers to questions regarding abortion and the sanctity of life. All too often the right to life of the unborn child has been tragically lost in a tidal wave of cries for the “right” to choose.”

Works Cited

“Book Of Discipline & Book Of Resolutions Free Versions | UMC Books.” Cokesbury, 2016, https://www.cokesbury.com/book-of-discipline-book-of-resolutions-free-versions. Accessed 20 July 2022.

“Jane ROE, et al., Appellants, v. Henry WADE.” Law.Cornell.Edu, https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/410/113. Accessed 20 July 2022.
Lambrecht, Tom. “Pro-Life Logic – Tom Lambrecht | Good News Magazine.” Tom Lambrecht, 8 October 2021, https://tomlambrecht.goodnewsmag.org/pro-life-logic/. Accessed 20 July 2022.

Marshall, CJ, and Matthew Hale. “19-1392 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (06/24/2022).” Supreme Court, 24 June 2022, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf. Accessed 20 July 2022.

“THE TRANSITIONAL BOOK OF DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE THE GLOBAL METHODIST CHURCH.” Global Methodist Church, 12 April 2022, https://globalmethodist.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Transitional-Discipline.2022041257.pdf. Accessed 20 July 2022.

Warren, CJ. “PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, et al., Petitioners, v. Robert P. CASEY, et al., etc. Robert P. CASEY, et al., etc., Petitioners, v. PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA et al.” Law.Cornell.Edu, https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/505/833. Accessed 20 July 2022.