Women calling the above listings will be informed by a re cording as to clergymen they may contact and next steps they should take. lem of illegal abortions. The liberalized laws tend to cause more rigidity and narrowness of interpretation, and, in any case, cannot cover all circumstances in which an abortion may be appropriate. For these reasons, the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries calls for the repeal of all legal prohibitions of physician-performed abortions. This would take abortion out of the realm of penal law and make voluntary and medically safe abortions legally available to all women. Simultaneously we ask that adequate protection be given to "conscientious objectors" against abortion, including physicians, nurses, and prospective mothers. The Board calls upon the churches of the United Church of Christ and their members to involve themselves extensively While there is wide variation in theological and scientific views as to when personal human life begins, a majority of experts as well as of the general population would probably agree that such life should not be interrupted during the last months of a normal pregnancy except for the most serious reasons (such as physical or mental health of the mother, abnormality of the fetus, incest, or rape). At the same time, an increasing number of persons find it difficult, if not impossible, to attribute anything more than the potentiality of human existence to the embryo in its early stages. A wise law will recognize these realities, repealing legal restrictions on physician-performed abortions during the early months of pregnancy and permitting the physician to determine the applicability of more limited criteria thereafter. The right of physician or patient to refuse abortion on moral or medical grounds should in any case be respected. The Council calls upon the churches of the United Church and their members to involve themselves extensively in pro its constituent members to the end that family planning services to the various communities may be expanded and new programs initiated which can serve as models to other hospitals and institutions. 4. Requests the Division of Health and Welfare and the Division of Christian Education to assume responsibility for providing educational resources, consultative services, and training for constituents who wish to sponsor programs which are consistent with the Board's policy position. 5. Requests the Division of Health and Welfare, in cooperation with the other Divisions, to develop ministries in behalf of disadvantaged and minority groups which would give them freedom of choice in the area of family planning and the termination of unwanted pregnancies. The Right to Choose, a background paper on the BHM statement, prepared by Helen Webber of the Division of Health and Welfare and reprinted from The Journal, may be ordered at 20c each, $2 per dozen, or $15 per hundred from Central Distribution Service, P.O. Box 7286, St. Louis, Missouri 63117. • Additional copies of Let's Look at Abortion, this issue of SOCIAL ACTION, may also be ordered from CDS, or from CCSA, at 50c for single copies, 10-99 copies @ 40c, 100 or more @ 35c each. The Coalition on National Priorities and Military Policy, with which the CCSA is affiliated, will hold a conference in Washington on March 31 and April 1 on conversion from defense production to non-military purposes. The CCSA, UCBHM, and other church bodies are inviting church members to take part in Wednesdays in Washington to urge the end of the draft. The President's authority to force young men into the military services expires on July 1. He has asked that it be extended for two years. However, a Commission, headed by former Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates, has recommended that the draft be replaced by a volunteer army. Persons planning a Washington visit, desiring to attend the Conference, or seeking more information, should write CCSA at 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. |