Abortion

ELCA Churchwide Assembly Action CA97.06.30

Passed by the 1997 Churchwide Assembly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Resolved
To express this church's continuing concern about the number of abortions in this country;

To commend the Social Statement on Abortion, which was adopted by the 1991 Churchwide Assembly, as a resource to our pastors and members dealing with this issue;

To encourage continuing moral deliberation throughout this church on abortion;

To request that the Board of Pensions and the Division for Church in Society provide a joint report to the Church Councils April 1998 meeting related to plans to continue educational efforts on abortion, in support of the members of the ELCA health plan and all members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and

To acknowledge the complex issues related to plan administration and to recognize the Church Council's actions at its November 1995 and April 1997 meetings as an appropriate response to the concerns raised in the memorials of the South Dakota Synod, Northeastern Minnesota Synod, Central/Southern Illinois Synod, and Lower Susquehanna Synod.