Voting Our Values on Amendment 4
We’ve been talking about the Biblical values that inform our voting through our sermon series, “Politics of Faith.” When you go to vote you will be presented with a choice to say yes or no to Amendment 4. In case you are unfamiliar, Amendment 4 is a ballot measure inviting Florida voters to choose how we handle the question of abortion in our state. This is a complex issue that is difficult to distill into a simple yes or no vote. As United Methodists we have a resource called the Social Principles that can provide context and a theological framework for thinking about abortion. The Social Principles are not church doctrine, they are a tool intended to help us apply our faith to complex social issues confronting modern followers of Christ.
“Our commitment to the sanctity of human life makes us reluctant to condone abortion. We unconditionally reject it as an acceptable means of birth control or a mechanism for gender selection and other forms of eugenics. We support measures requiring parental, guardian or other responsible adult notification and consent before abortions can be performed on girls who have not yet reached the age of legal adulthood, except in cases of alleged incest.
We oppose late-term or partial-birth abortion, a process also known as dilation and extraction. We call for the end to this practice, except when the life of the mother is in danger, no other medical treatments are feasible, or when severe abnormalities threaten the viability of the fetus. We recognize that these and other tragic conflicts of life with life may justify decisions to terminate the life of a fetus. In these limited circumstances, we support the legal option of abortion and insist that such procedures be performed by trained medical providers in clean and safe settings.” (Revised Social Principles of United Methodist Church, The Social Community paragraph K)
My role as your pastor is not to tell you what to think or how to vote. My role is to challenge you to ground your thinking in the values of Jesus so that we all live out our faith in every aspect of our lives. I pray for your discernment and would welcome a conversation if you desire one. Click here if you’d like to read more of the statement on Reproductive Health and Abortion or learn more about other relevant social issues addressed by the Social Principles like immigration, creation care, human sexuality, substance abuse, racism, and much more.
