PROGRAMS  |  MY SISTERS' KEEPER  |  VIEWS OF PEOPLE OF FAITH  | Christian church (Disciples of Christ)

A Disciples Perspective

By Nancy Hunt Wirth, Disciples For Choice
and Ken Brooker Langston, Disciples Justice Action Network

Pro-Choice:  The General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has on several occasions affirmed that women should have full access to all knowledge and options related to comprehensive reproductive health care: for example, Resolution 7332 adopted in 1973 and Resolution 24 adopted in 1975. All efforts to overturn these resolutions or to have the General Assembly adopt resolutions in contradiction to this position have failed.

Pro-Family:  The 2007 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, adopted Resolution 0725, which includes an emphasis upon “the prevention of unwanted pregnancies” and “supporting pregnant women” through “programs that provide better health care and community support.” According to the resolution, we should try to accomplish this in a number of ways, including:  (1) “engaging in age appropriate health and sexual education paired with Christian spirituality,” (2) “facilitating education for men as to their responsibilities in sexual relationships to ensure the safety and dignity of women and children,” and (3) “advocating for pregnancy counseling and adequate health care for women and families.”

Interfaith:  The 2005 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Portland, Oregon, adopted Resolution 0519, which states that “in the midst of a religiously plural society, we feel called to work with others for the well-being of the world and the strengthening of human life in community, and we recognize that when we act with our partners from different faith traditions we can respond better to a needy world.”

Global:  The global scope of these resolutions is obvious when one considers that they were adopted by the General Assembly of a denomination that sees itself as “a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world,” and one that has its mission “witnessing, loving, and serving from our doorsteps ‘to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).”

No one can speak for all Disciples of Christ on these or any other issues. But the officially convened gatherings of delegates from our congregational, regional, and general ministries have, through their resolution process, democratically decided to affirm these positions, to urge all Disciples seriously to consider doing the same, and to encourage all Disciples actively to advocate for these positions.

In short, various resolutions of the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) combine in such a way as to encourage Disciples to support an interfaith and global approach to family planning. In their positive response to this encouragement, many Disciples will be grateful for the opportunity to work on family planning issues in close partnership with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, especially through its interfaith project, “My Sisters’ Keeper:  People of Faith for Greater U.S. Support of International Family Planning.”