The Reuters dateline was simple and straightforward:

A ban on partial birth abortion appears imminent
The Congress of the United States has visited this issue of banning partial birth abortion, the most radical form of late term abortion, on a couple of other occasions only to have it vetoed by then President Bill Clinton. Now it looks as if it will be placed on the President’s desk again and it will be signed into law this time.

The ban comes from convictions by congressional leaders
If anything, this demonstrates the tenacious leadership of our Congress in taking a moral stand of saying there are some limits, even in our Roe vs. Wade, reproductive rights, pro-choice culture here in America. That leadership comes from women and men who were elected to be representatives of their constituencies partly because of their convictions on life issues.

But what about church leadership?
But that is the political, secular, policy-making leadership. Where is the moral, spiritual, theological leadership? I am sure that the spiritual leadership of many pastors, local congregations, and even some denominations played a part in influencing our lawmakers, but the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was not a part of giving that spiritual leadership. Our official advice has been favorable to all late term abortions, and, at best, ambivalent about crisis pregnancies late in pregnancy.

PC(USA) first to oppose partial birth abortion
At the 1997 General Assembly, the PCUSA became the first mainline denomination to express "grave moral concern" over partial birth abortion. It was a

That decision set the precedent and other mainline Protestant denominations quickly took the same stand. That was the good news.

PC(USA) first to reverse its stand
Bad news followed. At the 2002 General Assembly, the PCUSA became the first mainline denomination to reverse itself on this issue. The "grave moral concern" that limited consideration of abortion for a baby who could live outside the womb to only if the mother’s physical life is endangered by the pregnancy, was changed to

The Committee and the General Assembly heard no clear statement about the full import of terms like "woman’s health," "fetal suffering," and "genetic anomalies." What appeared to be limitations became a stand for unrestricted late term abortion.

Free to lobby for partial birth abortion
What is clear from the statement adopted last summer is that now the PCUSA can advocate, lobby and promote policy, as well as court decisions, in favor of late term abortions. This could not be done when the 1997 action was on the books. Now it can be done.

Where is the spiritual leadership in the PCUSA on late term abortion? It is not from the General Assembly or the Stated Clerk’s Office and definitely not from the Washington Office. We are in the strange position as mainline Presbyterians in America of getting more moral leadership on late term abortion from our Congress and President than from our own headquarters, governing bodies and pulpits.

Commissioners can show us leadership
But the situation can change.

Even as late term abortion is discussed in the halls of the US Congress, it will again be discussed in the halls of the PCUSA General Assembly. Late term abortion will be on the docket again at this year’s General Assembly in Denver. What will happen no one knows. The PCUSA has been "first" on this issue a couple of times: one good, one bad. Could it be that the PCUSA will recover its leadership in standing against all late term abortions?

Now that would be spiritual leadership!!