Maine Christians outraged over ministers' support for abortion-on-demand
Jim Brown OneNewsNow.comMay 7, 2007
Christians in Maine are denouncing a group of United Church of Christ ministers who are publicly advocating for taxpayer-funded abortions.
Nineteen United Church of Christ ministers have submitted a letter of written testimony to the Maine Legislature in support of a pending bill that would provide more than $283,000 annually to fund abortions for low-income women. In their letter, the Congregational ministers quote Proverbs 29:7: "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern."
Mike Hein with the Christian Civic League of Maine says the ministers are twisting Scripture to promote abortion and to argue that abortion is a "social justice matter."
"They're using the social justice argument that perhaps you've heard [that] denomination use," he points out. "[They argue that] low-income women, if they don't get the funding from the state in order to pay for abortions, are either going to seek alternative methods that are dangerous -- or, heaven forbid, they're going to take their pregnancy to term."
The letter from the UCC ministers is being widely criticized, says Hein. "What a poor public testimony these Christian reverends, these Congregational ministers are putting out there," he offers.
"To the unchurched, to people who have not yet accepted Christ as their Savior, they see this stand by the Congregationalists -- the United Church of Christ -- as something sending a very mixed message about what Christianity is."
Hein notes that the United Church of Christ denomination recently condemned the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a federal ban on partial-birth abortions.
Maine Christians outraged over ministers' support for abortion-on-demand
