Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Rejects Pro-Life Amendment

By Rev. Dr. James Lamb, Executive Director, Lutherans for Life

On August 21, 1999, delegates to the church-wide Assembly of the 5.2 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) overwhelmingly rejected a pro-life bid to change the denomination's 1991 A Social Statement on Abortion.

The proposal was made by the Southwestern Minnesota Synod. It sought to remove language from the statement that supports legal, publicly funded abortion and also to limit "justified abortion" to cases of rape, incest, and threat to the mother's life. Although this did not go as far to protect the gift of life as Lutherans for Life (LFL) would have preferred, it would have represented a vast improvement from the language found in the 1991 document.

While there are many examples of commendable language in the 1991 document that uphold life in the womb as God's gift and express the need for compassion toward those facing unplanned pregnancies, it is clear that great care was taken not to make any moral judgments that would indicate disapproval of abortion.

For example, the reader finds in A Social Statement on Abortion: "A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born, nor does a pregnant woman have an absolute right to terminate a pregnancy" (Section IC).

And "The Church recognizes that there can be sound reasons for ending a pregnancy through induced abortion. . . . We recognize that conscientious decisions need to be made in relation to difficult circumstances that vary greatly. What is determined to be a morally responsible decision in one situation may not be in another" (Section III B).

In recommending against the amendment, the influential Memorials Committee attempted to continue the appearance that the current denomination position does not essentially allow for abortion on demand. The committee said of the 1991 statement that it "honors the competing moral claims at stake in this often contentious issue." The proposed amendment was critiqued for proposing to "significantly change the overall position and implications of the statement."

However, the effort by the ELCA to appear to have a position that is morally nuanced and balanced is belied by language that reveals not an "equality of life" ethic that gives equal consideration to both mother and pre-born, but "quality of life" thinking, as the following quote from the 1991 statement reveals:

"In reflecting ethically on what should be done in the case of an unintended pregnancy,
consideration should be given to the status and condition of the life in the womb. We also
need to consider the conditions under which the pregnancy occurred and the implications of
the pregnancy for the woman's life" (p. 4).

But "status" and "condition" imply quality of life judgments. The abortion decision is not based on the inherent value of human life but upon the condition of that life or the conditions into which it will be born. When "status" and "condition" become the determining factors in deciding to kill a child for his own good, or to kill a child for the mother's own good, this is utilitarianism at its worst.

By contrast, an "equality of life" ethic begins with the premise that whether or not the pregnancy is planned, there are two lives of equal value involved, regardless of status or dependency. Thus the idea of destroying one of these lives becomes anathema, regardless of any perceived ultimate "good."

When you are presented with two lives of equal value, the question is not what will supposedly serve some greater "good" but rather who will serve for the good of the other. For Christians the answer to that question is: "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last and servant of all" (Matthew 9:35).

It is the "least of these" who are to be served (Matthew 25:40). The Christian is called upon to sacrifice for her child, not to sacrifice her child.

It is sad to see the moral relativism of our culture affecting a church body of such prominence and influence. Historically, Lutherans have not been neutral on the subject of abortion. Lutherans have opposed abortion based on the Scriptural truths that there is human life from the moment of conception and that God prohibits the murder of human life.

The founder of Lutheranism, Martin Luther, wrote, "For those who have no regard for pregnant women and who do not spare the tender fruit are murderers and infanticides" ("What Luther Says: An Anthology," p. 905). In his Ethics, Lutheran theologian and Nazi-resister Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "Destruction in the mother's womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed upon this nascent life" (p. 131).

Lutherans for Life is concerned about the continued impact the ELCA position will have on its membership. Language that is intended to suggest moral ambiguity, while in practice no abortions are disapproved, serves no one. It only allows people to become comfortable with a wrong, sanitizing it with social coatings of "choice," "right," and "freedom," calling evil good and darkness light. For a church to tolerate sin in the name of compassion and love is neither loving nor compassionate.

Ironically, the ELCA had a bold theme for this year's assembly: "Making Christ Known: Hope for a New Century." Yet many of their members-women, men, families who are struggling with the sin of abortion-are being excluded from the Hope of the Gospel of Christ.

It is also ironic that other resolutions passed at the Assembly included support for a "Decade of a Culture of Nonviolence" and a "Year of Education for Nonviolence." If there is going to be any chance at all of promoting a decade of a nonviolent culture, it must start with promoting nonviolence toward our own children, born and pre-born.

Lutherans for Life is grateful for those within the ELCA who courageously witness to the God-given sanctity of human life. LFL will also continue to encourage the ELCA as a whole to reconsider its support of the right of a woman to choose death for her child and harm to herself. Life, not death, is the message of the Christian Church.