From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 05:19:31 -0500 (EST) Subject: NR 009: Zeeland overtures synod to reaffirm opposition to abortion NR #1997-009: Classis Zeeland Overtures Christian Reformed Synod to Reaffirm Opposition to Abortion and Send Letter to Congress; Classis Rejects Abortion-Nazi War Crimes Comparison by 18-13 Vote Is partial birth abortion "tantamount in nature to the war crimes of Nazi Germany"? That was the question faced by Classis Zeeland at its January 15 meeting at First Christian Reformed Church of Zeeland. In an overture from Unity CRC of Allegan, classis was asked to overture synod to "reaffirm its commitment to the sanctity of life and its opposition to abortion," authorize the synodical officers to correspond with the President and Congress of the United States on the matter, and make the quoted declaration about Nazi war crimes. Classis adopted the second point unchanged and the first point in an amended form, but rejected the Nazi war crimes comparison by a margin of 18 to 13. NR #1997-009: For Immediate Release Classis Zeeland Overtures Christian Reformed Synod to Reaffirm Opposition to Abortion and Send Letter to Congress * Classis Rejects Abortion-Nazi War Crimes Comparison by 18-13 Vote by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service ZEELAND, Mich. (January 15, 1997) -- "[T]he surgeon then forces the scissors into the base of the skull... [H]e spreads the scissors to enlarge the opening. The surgeon removes the scissors and introduces a suction catheter into the hole and evacuates the skull contents. With the catheter still in place, he applies traction to the fetus, removing it completely from the patient." Is that procedure, described by Dr. Martin Haskell in the book Dilation and Extraction for Late Second Trimester Abortion, "tantamount in nature to the war crimes of Nazi Germany"? That was the question faced by Classis Zeeland at its January 15 meeting at First Christian Reformed Church of Zeeland. In an overture from Unity CRC of Allegan, classis was asked to overture synod to take three steps: * "Reaffirm its commitment to the sanctity of life and its opposition to abortion, as taught by Scripture and delineated in previous synodical decisions;" * "Authorize its officers to send official correspondence to the President of the United States and to the Congress of the United States lamenting the presidential veto of the ban against partial birth abortions and calling upon our government to enact legislation which protects 'the unique value of all human life' and prohibits 'the wanton or arbitrary destruction of any human being at any stage in its development," and to * "Declare the practice of partial birth abortion tantamount in nature to the war crimes of Nazi Germany." After extended debate, Classis Zeeland adopted the section regarding correspondence with the President and Congress without change and by a 17 to 16 vote adopted the first point in an amended form calling synod "to reaffirm its commitment to the sanctity of life and condemn the practice of partial birth abortion." Most of the debate, however, focussed on the comparison of partial birth abortion to Nazi war crimes -- a comparison that had drawn fire in the local newspaper and television media from a Grand Rapids rabbi and from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. After being debated in the morning session and sent to committee, the overture came back to the floor in a form that deleted the disputed Nazi comparison -- leading to a motion from the Unity CRC delegates to restore the deleted section. Elder Kevin Baar of Unity CRC passed out a medical diagram of the partial birth abortion procedure and asked the delegates to visualize the process. "I ask that you look at this baby with its hands moving and its feet moving, and then being stabbed in the back of the neck with scissors and having its brains sucked out," said Baar. "If synod wants to vote it down they can, but I think we as a classis need to have the courage to call a spade a spade and say this is demonic, this is like what happened in Nazi Germany." Other delegates, however, argued that the overture was insufficiently precise to pass synodical muster. "All of us here are in favor of what you want to see done; I don't think anyone here is in favor of partial birth abortion," said Rev. James DeVries of Second CRC in Allendale. "I feel guilty voting against this; I support what you're trying to do, but when you send something to synod you need to be precise," continued DeVries. "If you can find another formulation to say this to synod in a more precise way, I'd be in favor of it." The Nazi comparison was too strong for a majority of the delegates, however. By an 18 to 13 margin, classis rejected Unity CRC's proposal to restore the deleted section. Unity CRC pastor Rev. Daniel Dykstra had mixed feelings about the classical action. "This is certainly a great deal less than we asked for, but we are grateful that classis passed what it did," said Dykstra. Baar, who coordinates the Allegan area life chain and whose wife is the treasurer of Allegan Right to Life, expressed stronger sentiments. "I don't think there is anything the Nazis did that is worse than this," said Baar. "Our government is not neutral on this issue; it has refused to make the procedure illegal and is supporting the organizations that are promoting this procedure." Nevertheless, Baar said he was not entirely unhappy with the classical decision. "I got half of what I wanted," said Baar. "I'm thankful at least that synod can get a chance to take a position." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1996-073: Synod Rejects Wisconsin Overture: Calvin Prof. Dr. Hessel Bouma III Remains Free to Teach His Views on Abortion #1996-114: Classis Wisconsin Appoints Committee to Study Calvin Professor Dr. Hessel Bouma's Views on Abortion #1997-003: Allegan Christian Reformed Church Asks Synod to Equate Abortion with Nazi War Crimes Contact List: Elder Kevin Baar, Unity Christian Reformed Church 2340 116th Ave., Allegan, MI 49010 H: (616) 673-5713 Rev. James De Vries, Pastor, Second Christian Reformed Church 11342 Brown St., Allendale, MI 49401 O: (616) 895-4533 * H: (616) 895-7694 Rev. Dan Dykstra, Pastor, Unity Christian Reformed Church 147 Sunset Dr., Allegan, MI 49010 H/O/FAX: (616) 673-2034 Rev. Steven Sytsma, Stated Clerk, Classis Zeeland 4452 - 38th St., Hamilton, MI 49419 O: (616) 688-5290 * H: (616) 688-5603 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive97: nr97-009.txt .