Abortion “Life begins in the womb”
January 22nd marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade, a case which legalized abortion in the United States. Since that significant day, untold millions of unborn humans have been aborted, and abortion has become a part of the fabric of American civilization and culture.
Regardless of its legalization and acceptance, abortion is not accepted in all circles of American society. Indeed, the Orthodox Church has an official and very strong position which absolutely opposes abortion in any circumstances, and which does not allow its members to view this as an option. The Church, basing its opinion on the foundation of a 2000 year old tradition and understanding, does not under any circumstances view abortion as an acceptable alternative.
The issue of abortion is not a 20th century phenomenon. It is an issue which has affected civilization since before the time of Christ. The Lord Jesus Himself never said anything about abortion, but he DID uphold the moral principle of the Old Testament which established very clearly that human life begins IN THE WOMB [Psalm 139:13-16, Jer. 1:5]. Because of this belief, the earliest Christians of the undivided Church drew the logical conclusion that abortion, which was common in the first century Roman Empire, was the termination of a human life and was thus unacceptable as a practice for Christians. From the earliest Christian sources which appear in the 90s A.D., there was not a century in which the Church DID NOT speak out against abortion [and no one spoke in favor of it].
In fact, a fourth century Church Council actually passed a canon which determined what penalties were to be imposed upon a Christian who was involved in the abortion of an unborn child. It was determined that abortion was tantamount to manslaughter, and the discipline to be imposed was ten years excommunication before being able to be restored to the full life of the Church. On the other hand, the bishops who oversaw the imposition of these canons, also had the prerogative to modify application of the discipline according to the nature of the personal circumstances, although modification was usually minimal. At the Fourth Ecumenical Council in 451, this canon was made mandatory for the entire Church. Underlying these disciplines and the Church’s opposition to abortion lay an adamant belief in the sanctity of human life, especially the vulnerable, defenseless life in the womb.
That same understanding of the sanctity of human life and of the penalties for terminating that life underlies our contemporary position. Regardless of what legal or popular opinion is in North America, abortion is NOT acceptable in the eyes of the Orthodox Church. Each life, from the moment of conception, is viewed as fully human, holy and unique in the eyes of God. It is not our place to determine its value by deciding whether it should be aborted.
What we have always understood is that the taking of a human life is serious business and the consequences of this business may have a bearing on one’s status in eternal life. In other words, we believe that one’s salvation could very well be at stake if he participates in an abortion, since he has committed the mortal sin of taking an innocent human life. If this is true, then one cannot take a light-hearted attitude toward abortion; it is serious business, with serious consequences.
Having said that, it might be tempting to conclude that we are merciless and incapable of showing pity or giving note to the circumstances which might have precipitated an abortion. In fact, mercy IS shown in the fact that each situation is to be dealt with by the individual pastor and any penances imposed are to be based upon his understanding of the circumstances AND the application of the age old disciplines. There WILL be excommunication and the person who aborted WILL have to do penance, but the time span will be up to the priest, in council with his Bishop, and in consideration of the circumstances of the individual.
The role of the Church is to bring the aborter to a place where repentance, and absolution can be applied and the soul healed. This requires truth, honesty, and unyielding adherence to the Faith and expectations which have been handed down to us. It also means that the ideas behind abortion must not become a part of the fabric of our lives, even if they HAVE become part of the fabric of our society.