Family Planning and Faith

At the request of my younger sister, I hereby write this piece of the Reproductive Health Bill ("RH Bill") which as of this writing is bring deliberated in the Philippine Congress. I have not read the text of the Bill, but I guess many Filipinos also have not read this piece of legislation yet have very strong opinions on this issue.

As an ordained pastor in The United Methodist Church, one of my guides in this issue is the Social Principles as set forth in The Book of Discipline (2008), the law book of our denomination. The Social Principles "are a prayerful and thoughtful effort...to speak to the human issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation..." (p. 97). The Discipline makes it clear that while the Social Principles are "not church law", these contain the official stance of the Church on contemporary issues.

I would also like to shed some light by comparing statements from other faith communities, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism.

The Church places a high value on the family: "We believe the family to be the basic human community through which persons are nurtured and sustained in mutual love, responsibility, respect, and fidelity" (p. 101).

Abortion

On abortion, the Social Principles state that "[t]he beginning of life and the ending of life are the God-given boundaries of human existence" (p. 105). We believe in the sanctity of human life, both of those of the unborn child and of the mother. Abortion is an unacceptable means of birth control and especially for "gender selection". The Church recognizes that abortion is only acceptable "when the physical life of the mother is in danger and no other medical procedure is available." Interestingly, the Social Principles say, "Government laws and regulations (like the RH Bill?--GTG) do not provide all the guidance required by the informed Christian conscience" therefore abortion should only be considered after "prayerful consideration" with medical and pastoral counsel.

In meanwhile, in the book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope* John Paul the Great talks about the right of life as "the fundamental right" (p. 204). This means the right to be born until one's end: "'As long as I live, I have the right to live.'" (p. 205). He defines abortion as "none other than the authorization given to an adult, with the approval of an established law, to take the lives of children yet unborn...". He argues that an unborn child is not "an unjust aggressor" (in contrast to, for example, a rapist) but "a defenseless being that is waiting to be welcomed and helped" (p. 206). And one cannot justly harm one who is not an aggressor. Perhaps speaking on the possibility of abortion due to rape, the late pope says that the woman is actually "the victim of male selfishness" because after the man has contributed to the conception of a new life "but does not want to be burdened with it", he leaves the responsibility to the woman alone. In this vein, he rejects "pro choice" and advocates becoming "pro woman" where the choice "is truly in the favor of women" (p. 207), that is to be in "radical solidarity" with women so that she will not be pressured to terminate the life within her.

Surprisingly, Judaism is he a more "liberal" stance compared to Christianity when it comes to abortion. Judaism also recognizes "the fundamental principle of the sanctity of life" (from the Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR], 1979; quoted in Introduction to Judaism by Einstein & Kukoff, 1983). However, Judaism permits abortion when the life and health of the mother is in danger. This includes the mother's emotional health (perhaps talking about mental trauma after a violent crime--GTG); so abortion is allowed where the pregnancy is the result of rape and incest (CCAR, 1975, in Einstein & Kukoff). It also allows abortion for case where there is "anticipated physical or mental damage" (i.e., for children with deformities or retardation?--GTG). The above statements are from Reform Judaism; for the stance of Orthodox Judaism, see here.

Population

The United Methodist Church, through its Social Principles, supports population control, in the light of the increasing scarcity of the earth's resources caused by overpopulation (Discipline, p. 112). The Church supports family planning: People have the right to make decisions regarding childbearing, and "access to information and appropriate means to limit their fertility", which includes "voluntary sterilization" (by which I understand includes tubal ligation and vasectomy). There seems to be no language in the Social Principles about the use of artificial contraceptives such as birth control pills or prophylactics. However, it is made clear that United Methodism is against forced abortions and forced sterilization.

John Paul the Great also spoke about global population growth (Crossing the Threshold, p. 208). The Catholic Church's opposition to "pro choice" is not "a program of irresponsible global population growth." He writes, "The right path is that which the Church calls responsible parenthood.... [It] is the necessary condition for human love, and it is also the necessary vondition for authentic human love, because love cannot be irresponsible."

As for Judaism, while it respects the right of parents to determine their family size, a statement from the Central Conference of American Rabbis (Einstein and Kukoff, p. 15) reminds the Jewish people of the decimation of their people during the Holocaust ("and of the threats of annihilation that have pursued the Jewish people through[out] history"), parents have to take into consideration the survival of the Jewish race.

Conclusion

In the light of the foregoing statements on the family and population control, it is imperative for people and families to consider the strain of the earth's limited resources due to population growth. This calls for the responsible planning of family size, where child can be properly nurtured in the context of the family. There is some disagreement with abortion and the use of artificial means of family planning. While the government may legislate the means of family planning, it is up to individuals (that is, of the husband and wife), to plan their families according to the guidelines of the faith community they belong to and to the light of their conscience.

*I prefer to call popes as "Bishop" because they are, as one of their titles suggest, "the Bishop of Rome". However, styling a pope as "Bishop" may cause offense to Roman Catholic readers.