Protestant Views on Abortion

Before the infamous Roe v Wade case outlined earlier in this section, The Protestant Church’s view on abortion was very similar to that of the Catholic Church. For example, the Presbyterian Church in 1965 stated their view on abortion as, “The fetus is a human life to be protected by the criminal law from the moment when the ovum is fertilized” [1]. This implies, like The Catholic Church, that The Presbyterian Church, a denomination of Protestantism, believed that any abortion is murder. Most of the mainstream denominations shared this belief until the massive growth of the Pro-Choice Movement in the late 1960s. However, by 1970, The Presbyterian Church, The United Methodists, and The Lutheran Church, along with many other Protestant Denominations in America, took a sharp turn in their beliefs and supported open access to abortion [1].

The reasoning behind the shift in opinion to pro-choice instead of pro-life was due to the liberal Protestant view taking precedence over the conservative view. The liberal Protestant viewpoint on abortion disagrees with the Catholic Church’s use of Biblical excerpts to explain the need for banning abortion altogether. While liberal Protestants believe in the same Bible as Catholics, they see the scriptures being cited by The Catholic Church as being out of context [2]. Liberal Protestants agree that The Bible is the chronicle of early Christianity, but see it as an irrelevant source regarding issues like abortion in the 21st century. Rather, liberal Protestants, and thus most Protestant Denominations, most often cite the protection of the health of the mother and “hard cases”, such as rape and incest, as the reasons for supporting abortion [2].

Conservative Protestants, on the other hand, agree with The Catholic Church that abortion should be banned altogether. Like Catholics, conservative Protestants regard the Bible as the guidance for how Christians should live, thus citing the Bible for their argument that abortion is murder. Some denominations have stuck with the original pro-life Protestant belief, however. For example, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod resolved in 1971 that abortion was directly contrary to God’s will [1]. Also, even though most mainstream Protestant denominations support abortion, most have their own pro-life organizations to incorporate conservative followers and clergy alike and offer alternatives to women seeking abortion. For example, the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life formed in 1983, along with Presbyterians Pro-Life formed in the 1970s, help to push their respective Churches in the pro-life direction and limit the extent of abortion that is deemed acceptable [1].