"The United Methodist Church is slowly moving towards the historic Christian position of respecting the most vulnerable." -- Executive Director of UMAction Mark Tooley

 

Contact: Loralei Coyle, 202-905-6852 cell, lcoyle@TheIRD.org; Radio Interviews: Jeff Walton, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org; both with the Institute on Religion and Democracy

 

FT. WORTH, Texas, May 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- The United Methodist General Conference, the Church's governing body that meets every 4 years, overwhelmingly adopted several petitions affirming the sanctity of life during its quadrennial meeting in Fort Worth.

 

Conference delegates voted to:

 

• "Affirm and encourage the Church to assist the ministry of crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers that compassionately help women find feasible alternatives to abortion."
   
• "Respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child."
   
• Support for adult "notification and consent" when a minor is seeking an abortion.
   
• "Reject euthanasia and pressure upon the dying to end their lives."
   
• Delete language from a previous United Methodist statement that had been used to support abortion as a means of back-up birth control.
   
• Decrying the international problem of gender-selective abortions, while describing abortion as "violent" and opposing "trivial reasons" for abortion.

Mark Tooley, Executive Director of IRD's UMAction Committee, commented:

 

"These incremental steps continue a trend from the last several General Conferences towards an increased acknowledgement of the sanctity of all human life.

 

"The United Methodist Church is slowly moving towards the historic Christian concern for the most vulnerable.

 

"These latest moves continue this positive trend."