Last week, politicians in the State of New York passed legislation enabling the killing of unborn babies throughout all nine months of pregnancy, right up until the moment before birth. A full-term baby can now be killed. This legislation is a disastrous development for all of us. One of the foundational responsibilities of the State is to provide physical security to the vulnerable, and none are more vulnerable than babies. I am profoundly saddened by the blatant disregard for the value of life exhibited by the politicians who have done this and by the evident celebration exhibited in the New York City skyline. They have not only abdicated their responsibility to protect the vulnerable but have facilitated their destruction and murder. Pray for them, that God by His goodness will lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4).
Beyond the damage this “Reproductive Health Act” will have on women, men, and families, the killing of unborn babies undermines the State itself. Abortion not only ends the life of a human being, it denies the world all that she or he would have contributed to society. Future leaders, artists, teachers, doctors, and engineers are being denied the opportunity to fulfill their God-created purpose.
Abortion is the greatest moral issue of our time. The legislation and attitudes that threaten life are not going away anytime soon. Neither are we. Our Christian commitment to protect life, from conception to natural death, is literally written into the Anglican Church in North America’s Constitution and identity as a Church. This is something that all practicing Christians should be passionate about, and it was encouraging to see the next generation of youth participating in the Life Summit and March for Life a couple of weeks ago in Washington, D.C.
We are proud to partner with Anglicans for Life and support them in their mission to help equip every Anglican Church with the resources to ensure women have real options and the on-going support they need to choose life for themselves and their children. The effects of this awful law can be minimized as we raise the conscience of the culture and as churches work together with local pregnancy resource centers to inform, educate, and make available resources to women. These centers offer far more life-affirming help and support than what the abortion clinics and those who profit from the killing of the innocent ever could.
I encourage you to live out the Gospel and facilitate a culture of life in your community. There are so many ways any and every person can help: from having casual conversations with friends to supporting pregnancy resource centers; from providing free childcare for a couple who has adopted a child to political action. Most importantly, be willing to share what Jesus Christ has done in your own life. Please join me in prayer that our communities and our countries will be transformed by the love of Jesus Christ, will repent of these evils, and will protect the next generation.
You can learn more about how Anglicans for Life can help you and your church at www.AnglicansForLife.org
The West is determined to bring itself down.
I am grateful to God for Archbishop’s Beach’s statement.
I note that Roman Catholic bishops in New York have issued statements condemning this law but have declined to take the step of excommunicating Catholic legislators who voted for it or the Catholic governor who signed it into law and then lit the monuments to celebrate this enormity. Shame on them.
I agree they should be excommunicated at once. But the California bishop didn’t do that to Nancy Pelosi either. I guess they are afraid that they would have to excommunicate half of their congregants if they set that precedent, and they are too afraid to do that.
Actually, I think they are afraid these politicians will hoof to TEC.
I agree with you, but must point out that ++Foley, in his letter, does not excommunicate anyone, either. There is no order here that Anglican priests must refuse communion to NY politicians.
If we accept that bishops have the power to excommunicate (or more correctly, recognize that the person in question has committed an act that excommunicates them from the Church), and we recognize Anglican bishops as being actual bishops, then it is as much a requirement for them as for Roman Catholic or Orthodox bishops.
We need to remember that there is only one Church. Denominations are merely a formalization of the sinful acts of the past that have resulted in schisms.
You are right, TJ. Of course, it is possible that pro-abortion politicians attend conservative Anglican parishes, but not very likely.
I wish I could be surprised, but NY is where Rudy Giuliani was mayor and sat in the mayor’s pew at St. Patrick’s cathedral with his girlfriend. His wife did not attend.
If I hadn’t read the American Law society’s paper on this I am not sure I would have believed such an act of evil could be perpetrated in today’s world.
What kind of sick individual legalised the murder of a child in the womb that certainly from 26 weeks on would likely live if born prematurely. How can they justify, according to their own legislation , the abortion of a child right up till it’s due date. The fact they then celebrated this law being passed says all we need to hear. The world isn’t going to hell in a handcart, it’s clearly been there some considerable time.
For all their bleating about rights, the left wing SJWS types that supported this are only interested in their own well being .
I thoroughly support Archbishop Beach for speaking out, as we all should be.
Not being stateside, does any one know if Bishop Curry has said anything about it yet?
ECUSA has been pro-abortion for decades, and I think it highly unlikely you will hear condemnation of this from any but the few conservative bishops left.
Fr. K, it’s even worse. The governor of the small state of Rhode Island is pushing for a similar bill in that state. And a state assembly delegate, a Democrat, in Virginia, is proposing a bill that would allow abortion even as the woman is ready for natural birth. The delegate acknowledged in an interview that the mother could choose to abort even at that point, under her proposed bill.
And worse yet: The governor Virginia, Ralph Northam, a Democrat, gave an interview in which he not only could not condemn the killing of a child in the process of being naturally born but suggested that infanticide after birth could be possible:
Good news: The infanticide initiative in Virginia has been defeated. About half of the Democratic caucus voted in favor of it. It’s good to know that half of the Democrats voted against it.
There is no medical condition that would challenge a mother’s life or physical health at 26 weeks that could not be resolved by delivery instead of abortion.
That leaves us with psychological health. So the argument must be “She is so psychologically stressed by this pregnancy that not only must we remove the baby so that she does not have to raise it, but we must also kill the baby so that no one else can raise it.”
That hits the nail on the head, Dr P. In every country where abortion has been legalized on health grounds, doctors can be found who will certify that the mother’s “mental health” requires that the baby be killed. That usually just means that the mother doesn’t want the baby.
LAY Catholics are strong and vocal defenders of the unborn. Sadly, it appears that whe push comes to shove many of their leaders, priests and bishops, do not have their back. This may be apples & oranges but if these politicians are going to present themselves as “Catholic” and receive the Sacrament, why should Protestants be excluded?
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