Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Official website: http://www.elca.org/

Beginning of Life

Abortion

Official Statement: from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's 1991 Social Statement on Abortion.

"Induced abortion, the act of intentionally terminating a developing life in the womb, is one of the issues about which members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have serious differences. These differences are also found within society."

"The language used in discussing abortion should ignore neither the value of unborn life nor the value of the woman and her other relationships. It should neither obscure the moral seriousness of the decision faced by the woman nor hide the moral value of the newly conceived life. Nor is it helpful to use the language of "rights" in absolute ways that imply that no other significant moral claims intrude. A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born, nor does a pregnant woman have an absolute right to terminate a pregnancy. The concern for both the life of the woman and the developing life in her womb expresses a common commitment to life. This requires that we move beyond the usual "pro-life" versus "pro-choice" language in discussing abortion."

"Some basic faith convictions undergird our judgments on abortion:

Human beings, created in God's image as male and female, are persons of intrinsic value and dignity. Human beings live in community, with responsibility and accountability to God, self, and others. Women, faced with unintended pregnancies, are called to be good stewards of life by making responsible decisions in light of these relationships. Women and men share equally in the responsibility and accountability for procreation, although it is women who are most intimately affected by decisions about abortion.

All of life is a mysterious, awesome gift of God. Biblical passages express the God-given mystery of creation. God creates life, redeems it through Jesus Christ, and fulfills it in the coming of the reign of God. Personal human life is a part of this divine drama. God creates a human being through complex genetic, physiological, and relational developments. Human life in all phases of its development is God-given and, therefore, has intrinsic value, worth, and dignity. Guided by God's Law, which orders and preserves life, human beings are called to respect and care for the life that God gives.

What God has created has become corrupted by sin. Sin is both a condition of alienation from God and the acts that issue from this condition. Human judgments, actions, organizations, and practices are marked by a distortion of God's will and purpose for life. Sin is evident in the many ways human lives are not given equal respect or treated with high value, but are subject to abuse, violence, and neglect by individuals, groups, and entire societies. We are caught up in a web of sin in which we both sin and are sinned against.

God calls us to repentance, renewal, and responsible living. We have "died to sin" through our Baptism into Christ and through him are raised to new life. We are forgiven and sustained through God's grace. Our faith is to be active in love and our freedom used for the benefit of one another. This is the fruit of the Spirit manifest in our lives. We are to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

As a community of forgiven sinners, justified by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we are empowered so that we might do what is effective in serving the needs of the neighbor. Inspired by Jesus' own ministry, our love for neighbor embraces especially those who are most vulnerable, including both the pregnant woman and the life in her womb."

"Because we believe that God is the creator of life, the number of induced abortions is a source of deep concern to this church. We mourn the loss of life that God has created. The strong Christian presumption is to preserve and protect life. Abortion ought to be an option only of last resort. Therefore, as a church we seek to reduce the need to turn to abortion as the answer to unintended pregnancies."

"We also deplore the circumstances that lead a woman to consider abortion as the best option available to her. We are moved particularly by the anguish of women who face unwanted pregnancies alone. The panic and isolation of such pregnancies, even in the best of circumstances, can be traumatic. Poverty, lack of supportive relationships, immaturity, oppressive social realities, sexism, and racism can intensify her sense of powerlessness. The prospect of having and caring for a child can seem overwhelming."

"We confess our sin as a community of faith. We often have fallen short in respecting God's gift of life and in providing conditions more conducive for bringing new life into the world."

"As a community of faith we seek to live out our support for life in all its dimensions. We are committed to supporting those who face problematic pregnancies in ways that effectively address their immediate as well as long-term needs. This can include financial, nutritional, medical, educational, social, and psychological, as well as spiritual support."

"Our ministry of hospitality to all people ought to include women who have had abortions, women who are considering abortions, children, families, and those who bear and raise children under all kinds of circumstances. This should be reflected throughout congregational life and church policy. Congregations are encouraged to support day-care centers and nurseries in their facilities. Services and shelter should be provided, especially to enable young mothers and fathers to continue their education and care for their children. Members should also be encouraged to become foster and/or adoptive parents. By our policies and practices as a church we need to indicate that we are truly supportive of children through the long years after, and not only before, they are born."

"In keeping with our commitment to become communities that are truly life-affirming, this church challenges the following life-degrading attitudes that permeate the prevailing culture and may contribute to the high incidence of abortion: messages in the media and elsewhere that encourage irresponsible sexual activity; materialism, individualism, and excessive concern for self-interest; the desire for "perfect" children, and treating those who are not as if they were "disposable"; attitudes and practices that are inhospitable to children and to the women who bear them; low regard of human life, especially the lives of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, or Native Americans, and of many women and children who are poor."

"Through these and other efforts, we as a church seek to reduce the need to turn to abortion as the answer to unintended pregnancies."

"Continuing the Pregnancy — Because of the Christian presumption to preserve and protect life, this church, in most circumstances, encourages women with unintended pregnancies to continue the pregnancy. Faith and trust in God's promises has the power to sustain people in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. In each set of circumstances, there must also be a realistic assessment of what will be necessary to bear, nurture, and provide for children over the long-term, and what resources are available or need to be provided for this purpose. The needs of children are a constant. The parenting arrangements through which these needs are met may vary. If it is not possible for both parents to raise the child, this might be done by one parent, by the extended family, or by foster or adoptive parents. This church encourages and seeks to support adoption as a positive option to abortion. Because adoption is an increasingly more open process today, it generally is easier for birth parents to have a role in selecting the adoptive parents and in maintaining some contact with the child. These possibilities can be helpful in the grieving process that is likely to occur when birth parent(s) choose to place the child for adoption after having bonded with the child during pregnancy. Care needs to be taken in selecting adoption processes that do not exploit but safeguard the welfare of all parties involved. At the same time, we recognize that there are unintended pregnancies for which adoption is not an acceptable option. We encourage and seek to make it possible for people of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds and with limited financial means to adopt children. We encourage those who contemplate adopting to consider adopting children with special needs. Mothers and fathers choosing to place their children for adoption should be affirmed and supported in view of society's prejudices against such decisions."

"Ending a Pregnancy — This church recognizes that there can be sound reasons for ending a pregnancy through induced abortion. The following provides guidance for those considering such a decision. We recognize that conscientious decisions need to be made in relation to difficult circumstances that vary greatly. What is determined to be a morally responsible decision in one situation may not be in another. In reflecting ethically on what should be done in the case of an unintended pregnancy, consideration should be given to the status and condition of the life in the womb. We also need to consider the conditions under which the pregnancy occurred and the implications of the pregnancy for the woman's life. An abortion is morally responsible in those cases in which continuation of a pregnancy presents a clear threat to the physical life of the woman. A woman should not be morally obligated to carry the resulting pregnancy to term if the pregnancy occurs when both parties do not participate willingly in sexual intercourse. This is especially true in cases of rape and incest. This can also be the case in some situations in which women are so dominated and oppressed that they have no choice regarding sexual intercourse and little access to contraceptives. Some conceptions occur under dehumanizing conditions that are contrary to God's purposes. There are circumstances of extreme fetal abnormality, which will result in severe suffering and very early death of an infant. In such cases, after competent medical consultations, the parent(s) may responsibly choose to terminate the pregnancy. Whether they choose to continue or to end such pregnancies, this church supports the parent(s) with compassion, recognizing the struggle involved in the decision. Although abortion raises significant moral issues at any stage of fetal development, the closer the life in the womb comes to full term the more serious such issues become.[F] When a child can survive outside a womb, it becomes possible for other people, and not only the mother, to nourish and care for the child. This church opposes ending intrauterine life when a fetus is developed enough to live outside a uterus with the aid of reasonable and necessary technology. If a pregnancy needs to be interrupted after this point, every reasonable and necessary effort should be made to support this life, unless there are lethal fetal abnormalities indicating that the prospective newborn will die very soon."

"Laws should be enacted and enforced justly for the preservation and enhancement of life, and should avoid unduly encumbering or endangering the lives of women. Because of our conviction that both the life of the woman and the life in her womb must be respected by law, this church opposes:

• the total lack of regulation of abortion;
• legislation that would outlaw abortion in all circumstances;
• laws that prevent access to information about all options available to women faced with unintended pregnancies;
• laws that deny access to safe and affordable services for morally justifiable abortions;
• mandatory or coerced abortion or sterilization;
• laws that prevent couples from practicing contraception;
• laws that are primarily intended to harass those contemplating or deciding for an abortion.

The position of this church is that, in cases where the life of the mother is threatened, where pregnancy results from rape or incest, or where the embryo or fetus has lethal abnormalities incompatible with life, abortion prior to viability should not be prohibited by law or by lack of public funding of abortions for low income women. On the other hand, this church supports legislation that prohibits abortions that are performed after the fetus is determined to be viable, except when the mother's life is threatened or when lethal abnormalities indicate the prospective newborn will die very soon. Beyond these situations, this church neither supports nor opposes laws prohibiting abortion."

(Social Statement on Abortion)

Contraception

Official Statement:

"Marriage is the appropriate context for sexual intercourse. This continues to be the position of this church. We affirm that the goodness of sexual intercourse goes beyond its procreative purpose. Whenever sexual intercourse occurs apart from the intent to conceive, the use of contraceptives is the responsibility of the man and of the woman."

"Our congregations and church schools ought to provide sex education in the context of the Christian faith. Such education, beginning in the elementary years, needs to emphasize values such as responsibility, mutuality, and abstinence from sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Parents should also be prepared to teach sexual responsibility to their children in the home. It is especially important that young men and young women be taught to exercise their sexuality responsibly."

"Prevention of Unintended Pregnancies — Prevention of unintended pregnancies is crucial in lessening the number of abortions. In addition to efforts within church and home, this church supports appropriate forms of sex education in schools, community pregnancy prevention programs, and parenting preparation classes. We recognize the need for contraceptives to be available, for voluntary sterilization to be considered, and for research and development of new forms of contraception."

(Social Statement on Abortion)

Infertility & Reproduction

Reproductive Technology

Official Statement:

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In Vitro Fertilization — using egg and sperm of parents

"In Vitro Fertilization refers to the fertilization of a living human egg in an artificial environment outside the human body. When this happens, it usually is done in order to bear and give birth to children when conception has not been possible by normal means. A fertilized egg will then be artificially implanted in the womb of a woman so that the process of pregnancy may begin. The ELCA currently has no policy regarding In Vitro Fertilization. In 1983, however, the standing committee of the Division of Theological Studies of the Lutheran Council in the USA received permission from the American Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church in America (both predecessor bodies of the ELCA), and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to issue a report on In Vitro Fertilization (IFV). In the LCUSA report, there was agreement "that IVF in and of itself is not contrary to Christian values," although there was some disagreement among members of the standing committee about some issues associated with this process. The report further stated that "The committee has unanimously concluded that IVF does not in and of itself violate the will of God as reflected in the Bible, when the wife's egg and husband's sperm are used." (ELCA’s web site)

See also the full LCUSA report entitled "In Vitro Fertilization: Study Material and Guidelines: A Study Paper of the Lutheran Council in the USA."

Frozen Oocytes

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Healthcare & Medicine

Access to Healthcare

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Conscience Issues

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Medical Tourism

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Organ Donation & Transplantation

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Privacy of Healthcare Information

Official Statement:

"The ELCA calls upon individuals, agencies, organizations, corporations and governments to pursue goals and set policies or establish practices that . . . maximize the use of medical genetic information to improve care without succumbing to discrimination or the abuse of privacy" ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")

"Likewise, this church rejects beliefs, goals and policies that . . . use genetic information for discrimination in employment, health care or insurance coverage; use personal genetic information without consent" ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")

Science & Technology

Biotechnology

Animal-Human Hybrids & Chimeras

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Human Cloning

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Stem Cell Research

Official Position: from denomination website

"The ELCA has not taken a position on stem cell research or related matters such as embryonic stem cell research, adult stem cell research, or umbilical cord stem cell research." ( {denomination website)

Emerging Technologies

Ethical Use of Technology

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Genetic Ethics

Official Statement from "Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility"

"The imperative to respect and promote the community of life with justice and wisdom provides a general orientation for the human vocation today. As a framework for faith active in love of others, it provides for respectful deliberation, creative choices, sound advocacy, wise practices and life-giving decisions over the long haul. This framework leads this church to state some general convictions that can guide particular judgments about the use of genetic technology and contribute to the common good of all. The ELCA calls upon individuals, agencies, organizations, corporations and governments to pursue goals and set policies or establish practices that:

advocate for genetic research and discovery that advance the good of the present generation and those to come; affirm the good of genetic technologies and economic enterprises that enable the community of life to flourish; encourage varieties of research aimed at improving human health and well-being; give priority to global health issues and needs, particularly those which may benefit by genetic research even when the economic return is small; maximize the use of medical genetic information to improve care without succumbing to discrimination or the abuse of privacy; affirm quality of human life improvement with reasonable life extension without expecting or seeking perfection, insofar as such research does not lead to unjust and disproportionately biased use of limited human and financial resources; encourage the development of genetic means to aid reversal of past human abuse of the environment without harming the future; promote greater dialogue, understanding and cooperation among organic and conventional farmers to solve production issues and lessen tensions; implement long-term, ecological, social and economic impact assessment in regulatory protocols around genetic research; and encourage the development of means to enable marginalized voices to be heard in public policy debates.

Likewise, this church rejects beliefs, goals and policies that:

rely upon or encourage fatalism and genetic determinism; use genetic knowledge or technology to create unsustainable practices or supposed states of perfection; use genetic information for discrimination in employment, health care or insurance coverage; use personal genetic information without consent; expand genetic research or technology that endangers human bodies for the sake of economic gain or social power, which is a particular danger for marginalized racial and ethnic communities; and practice institutional or ideological human eugenic programs.

Likewise, the ELCA will raise searching questions about goals and policies that:

expand genetic research or technology while knowingly and unduly endangering plant and animal species, microflora or fauna, or the existence of biodiversity; impact negatively on individual and community livelihoods and that impede or harm cooperation and respect among affected people and communities; and direct genetic knowledge and technology in ways that further inequalities or benefit the interests of the few at the expense of the many.

As a community in Christ engaged in moral discernment regarding issues of research priorities and the just delivery of the products of research, and as a participant in public dialogue regarding genetic knowledge and its uses, this church will consistently articulate, argue for and apply such convictions as expressions of an ethics of reciprocity and responsibility." ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")

Gender Selection

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Gene Therapy/Genetic Engineering

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Genetic Screening

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Genetic Testing

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Patenting of Human Tissue/Gene Patenting

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Human Enhancement

Official Statement:

"The ELCA calls upon individuals, agencies, organizations, corporations and governments to pursue goals and set policies or establish practices that . . . affirm quality of human life improvement with reasonable life extension without expecting or seeking perfection, insofar as such research does not lead to unjust and disproportionately biased use of limited human and financial resource" ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")

"Likewise, this church rejects beliefs, goals and policies that . . . use genetic knowledge or technology to create unsustainable practices or supposed states of perfection" ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")

"Likewise, this church rejects beliefs, goals and policies that . . . expand genetic research or technology that endangers human bodies for the sake of economic gain or social power, which is a particular danger for marginalized racial and ethnic communities; and practice institutional or ideological human eugenic programs." ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")

Cyborgs

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Transhumanism/Posthumanism

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Human Research Ethics

Official Statement:

"Likewise, this church rejects beliefs, goals and policies that . . . expand genetic research or technology that endangers human bodies for the sake of economic gain or social power, which is a particular danger for marginalized racial and ethnic communities; and practice institutional or ideological human eugenic programs." ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")

Experimentation on Human Embryos

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End of Life

Artificial Hydration & Nutrition

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Definition of Death

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Extraordinary Measures

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Physician-Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia

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Withholding & Withdrawing Treatment

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Issues of Human Dignity & Discrimination

Disability Ethics

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Eugenics

Official Statements:

"Likewise, this church rejects beliefs, goals and policies that . . . expand genetic research or technology that endangers human bodies for the sake of economic gain or social power, which is a particular danger for marginalized racial and ethnic communities; and practice institutional or ideological human eugenic programs." ("Genetics, Faith, and Responsibility")