Salvation Army Wrong to Support Abortion in Some Circumstances

Opinion   |   Susan Michelle Tyrrell   |   Aug 14, 2012   |   12:33PM   |   Washington, DC

Apparently the Salvation Army believes that abortion is okay when it’s necessary. Furthering the lie that abortion—the willful murder of a pre-born human—is sometimes okay if it comes from trauma, the organization known for helping many poor and needy seems to have a buy-in to the humanistic justice system that sometimes denies Jesus.

Sounding a bit too much like the United Methodist Church (UMC) story we recently told you about, the Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission page begins with a lofty biblical statement that says God gave us life but then proceeds to tell us when we can take it:

The Salvation Army recognizes tragic and perplexing circumstances that require difficult decisions regarding a pregnancy. Decisions should be made only after prayerful and thoughtful consideration, acknowledging the tremendous pressures that occur during an unexpected pregnancy. There is a responsibility on all involved to give the parents of the unborn child, particularly the woman, appropriate pastoral, medical and other counsel. The Salvation Army believes that termination can occur only when

Carrying the pregnancy further seriously threatens the life of the mother; or

Reliable diagnostic procedures have identified a foetal abnormality considered incompatible with survival for more than a very brief post natal period.

In addition, rape and incest are brutal acts of dominance violating women physically and emotionally. This situation represents a special case for the consideration of termination as the violation may be compounded by the continuation of the pregnancy.

There isn’t an except with abortion. If abortion is murder than murder is murder. Recently Abolish Human Abortion ran this photo (right):

Source (used with permission under Creative Commons License)

It baffles me how the Salvation Army, which claims to be a Christian organization, can say that if a baby is conceived by rape that the trauma of the mother somehow supersedes the trauma of the baby and murder is then okay. Apparently it baffles them as well.

If you look under their “Principles, Facts and Information” section that follows their murder justification, you will see facts that annihilate their view their purported views on the sanctity of life. They say since rape is used as a weapon of war, “Those who become pregnant as a result bear the burden of being continuing reminders of the military impotence of their whole community.” Yes, for a few months that the pregnancy shows it might be a reminder, but wouldn’t it be a lovely picture of redemption to show that baby being adopted.

However, the Salvation Army then decides to switch to the other side of its forked mouth and says:

Part of God’s gift of life to humanity is our free will and the ability to make decisions (Proverbs 1:29; Isaiah 7:15-16). Some people would argue that, despite the notion of sanctity of life, the mother has the right to choose whether or not she wishes to continue with a pregnancy and that her right to do so supersedes the right of the unborn child to life. This is not consistent with the Christian belief in a God who cares for and defends the weak and the marginalised (Leviticus 19:14, 33-34) and who is a God of justice (Psalms 140:12, 146:7-9)

Of course this statement is truth. We don’t get to pick, in any circumstances.

The Salvation Army has done what the UMC has done and let human sympathy get in the way or the word of God by saying that there are exceptions of when to apply the truth.

Is abortion murder? Does abortion take a life?

Then it’s either okay to take life or not. There isn’t a middle ground for babies who came from a rape or when a doctor says a baby may have a fetal abnormality. We don’t suddenly get a right to play God because of our human understanding.

True justice cannot ever come apart from the Man Jesus. The Salvation Army, founded by William Booth, has a solid doctrinal statement, but it’s not following it with its social justice statement. In essence, it says that abortion is murder, God made us in His image, formed us in the womb, but some crises are too big for God to redeem so it’s okay  in those instances to kill the baby.

CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!

 

Before you drop money in a red kettle this Christmas, ask yourself if you can support even the limited bloodshed the Salvation Army allows in the name of justice. As a Christian organization with churches and missions all over, the Salvation Army has a responsibility to be true to Jesus before people. When humanism invades the church it’s time for a line to be drawn.

LifeNews Note:  Susan Michelle Tyrrell is the editor of Bound4Life’s blog.