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Episcopalians stand for life at pro-choice march
By Georgette Forney
Pro-choice marcher switched signs, joined NOEL counter-rally
Shirley came to the April 25 pro-choice march in Washington D.C. holding a sign that said “Stand up for Choice.” She left with one that said, “I’m Pro-Life.”
Nobody made her take the new sign. No-one called her names for supporting free access to abortion. Instead, Shirley changed her mind when she saw a small group of Christians affiliated with NOEL (formerly National Organization of Episcopalians for Life) quietly witnessing to the hurt abortion had brought into their own lives.
Many carried signs that said, “I regret my abortion,” or, “I regret my lost fatherhood.” They were there, said Georgette Forney, president of NOEL and a parishoner at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Sewickley, PA, to counter the message that abortion is good for women and society.
NOEL’s campaign, called “Silent No More Awareness,” exists to give those with personal experience of abortion’s costs a voice, said Forney. That group includes Forney herself, who had an abortion when she was 16. “There is a lot of talk about rights and choice, but very little attention is given to women who have abortions. I regret my abortion and I know others who feel the same way,” she said.
Forney estimated that some 250 people participated in the Silent No More Awareness counter-rally during the April 25 pro-choice march. Among them were many Episcopalians. Silent No More Awareness is a joint project of NOEL and Priests for Life, a Roman Catholic organization.
Abortion has been a contentious issue in the Episcopal Church. In 1994 the church’s 71st General Convention reaffirmed that human life should be honored from inception to death. However, it also referred to abortion as a “right,” but only one that should be used in “extreme situations.” “We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience,” states the resolution.
At the same time both the national Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Women’s Caucus have maintained membership in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), which co-sponsored the April 25 pro-choice march. Among other stands, the RCRC opposes parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion and has fought laws banning partial birth abortions.
NOEL, which was founded in 1983, is based in the Anglican Communion Network diocese of Pittsburgh and offers Episcopalians not in agreement with abortion advocacy of the national church a voice in the debate, said Forney.
NOEL’s is a life-affirming ministry in the Worldwide Anglican Communion” NOEL’s mission is to advocate the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death in the Church and society.” NOEL’s vision is to “stand for the value of every human life as revealed in Scripture and “equip people to develop a biblical response to issues that threaten human life.”
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