29 June 2022

Dear People of God,

The Episcopal Church is not and never has been “pro-abortion.” We have never advocated its use as a method of birth control, though there are circumstances where even multiple methods of birth control used together fail. What is a woman, who has neither the health nor the emotional or financial support to rear a child, to do? What is a 13-year-old teenage girl, who is experimenting with sex as do all young people, to do? Should she be forced to carry a child to term for which her body may not yet be ready to do so safely? What is she to do if her parents throw her out of the house because she has offended their misplaced sense of propriety? That is a state of affairs all too common in Christian households – to our shame.

The Episcopal Church is, as am I, pro-choice. There is a great deal of difference in terminology. We take this position because we believe quite strongly in the dignity and worth of every human being, as stated in our Baptismal Covenant. All of us are created in the image of God; as a result, we have autonomy in the freedom of love to make decisions that are best for us and our circumstances. As we were reminded in this past Sunday’s reading from Galatians, a letter by Paul known as the Testament of Freedom: “For freedom Christ has set us free.” How we use this freedom formed in the creative love of God is up to each of us as individuals. Indeed, Jesus himself said that we are to call no one “father,” implying that authority for the Christian is vested in only God and the individual with a well-formed conscience. Of course, our consciences are at different stages of development in love as we are all utterly unique and have been given vastly different opportunities in life.

I cannot, nor can any church or external authority, possibly know all the motivations that go into a woman seeking an abortion. I do not even know myself – much less someone else, another point that Paul is clear to make elsewhere in his writings.

We know that in states which recently prohibited abortions in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, in some of these states, NO exceptions are made for rape and/or incest or the health of the girl or woman. This opens up the very real possibility of a child, raped by her father, carrying her sister to term! Certain medical conditions, such as ectopic pregnancies or the death of a fetus in utero, can be treated only by abortion. But physicians are prohibited from treating them by the only means available – abortion. The result is the almost inevitable death of the woman. Surely, the existing life of a living human being with agency must take precedence over a fetus at whatever stage of development. To say otherwise is to reduce a woman to chattel, to no more than one portion of her anatomy. It is to deprive her of her full humanity created in the wonderful image of God.

Our Jewish sisters and brothers believe that life begins at birth, not at conception – as they rightly understand that a child who cannot exist by itself does not have life as that is commonly understood. This is the tradition out of which our Lord Jesus came; and, as the very keen observer of human nature that he was, knew that abortions took place. Women have been performing abortions since time immemorial. He spoke nothing of it. He knew, better than we often do, that we are almost infinitely complex beings with a wide variety of circumstances informing our decisions known only to God alone. His constant bywords were love and mercy, justice and peace, to all and for all. He knew, as Paul reminds us, that “the law kills” because no law, no matter how well-intended – though I believe the recent ruling is anything but well-intended – can cover every circumstance of living. Love and mercy, justice and peace, must have the final word.

Some of our Muslim sisters and brothers believe that life in the womb does not begin until the fourth month after conception, thus permitting abortions until that point.

Maternal health in our country is among the worst in the developed world. This ruling will disproportionately affect women of color and other minority people whose health needs are already severely underserved. Yet, women will continue to seek abortions from illegal and dangerous providers, or attempt other unsafe means to produce one themselves. The result is foreseeable – massive infection and death. This is not a step forward in any way that I can imagine.

Laws are now being considered or are already in place that will permit criminal charges to be brought against anyone who helps a woman seeking an abortion. Chaos and cruelty will be the only result. Life will not be served.

I hope this letter serves to underscore that this is a complex issue. The ham-fisted approach of the Supreme Court and certain states will lead only to more death and the continued relegation of women to second-class – or worse – status. This law is, in the end, not about life, but about men controlling the lives of women.

Fr. Carlton