In 1997 the G.A. adopted a statement that expressed a

The Advisory Committee on Litigation (ACL) and the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) worked together to change the position the G.A. had taken. The committees acknowledged that their objective was to permit church entities to support partial birth abortion in the public sphere where the movement to ban the procedure was taking place. They brought a subtly-worded changed position to the G.A. in 2002, and the assembly adopted it. It is titled "Statement on Post-Viability and Late-Term Abortion."

The subject of the statement is a "viable" baby, one who is well-developed enough to live outside the womb. The committees added to the life of the mother exception so many other ambiguously-worded exceptions that there was no longer any circumstance in which a late term abortion could be said to be morally wrong.

The statement expresses concern for the lives of viable babies but, instead of urging their births when problems develop in pregnancies, it lists the situations in which it finds abortion of the baby to be morally acceptable:

• "To save the life of the woman"
• "To preserve the woman’s health in circumstances of a serious risk to the woman’s health"
• "To avoid fetal suffering as a result of untreatable life threatening medical anomalies"
• "In cases of rape or incest."

Current church policy defines "viability" as, "when the unborn child is potentially capable of living outside the woman’s womb with artificial help (life support system)." (The policy adds, "Today, our medical technology makes this possible at around 20 weeks.")

The very fact of the baby’s viability means that when the mother’s life or health is at risk immediate delivery of the baby would meet the goal of preserving her life and health. The baby does not have to be aborted in order to terminate the pregnancy. The baby can be delivered live with less risk to the mother–and to the baby–than if abortion is performed.

Even where rape or incest is a factor in a late term pregnancy, immediate delivery and a plan for adoption would be easily accomplished as an alternative to abortion.

Babies with "untreatable life-threatening medical anomalies" are not viable babies by definition. Even so, many Presbyterians would support delivery and care for them as long as they are able to live.

In every case of pregnancy the baby must be delivered. Abortion always requires an intervention in addition to delivery. Abortion requires the insertion of instruments into the woman or the introduction of poisons in order to end the life of the baby prior to delivery. In addition, there are other long term physical and emotional effects for the woman associated with abortion. Live birth follows the normal process of typical vaginal delivery or Caesarian section. It avoids any additional trauma including the guilt associated with taking the baby’s life.

The current statement says that the church "affirms the value of children and the importance of nurturing, protecting, and advocating their well-being." That affirmation is best fulfilled in the wording of this year’s overture from Charlotte Presbytery that the G.A.

Women, babies, and the church would benefit from the adoption of this language as a substitute for the current "Statement on Post-Viability and Late-Term Abortion."