Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland

STATEMENT ON THE IRISH ABORTION DEBATE

Issued by The Public Morals Committee

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Following the announcement of the Irish Government that a referendum will be held later this year on whether or not to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution, the Public Morals Committee of the RPCI has issued this statement:

The Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution rightly recognises that all human lives are equal, whether born or unborn. Irish citizens should therefore uphold this standard and reject every effort to amend it.

We live in an era of concern for progressivism and equality. As Bible-believing citizens, we believe that it is the mark of a truly progressive society to protect those who contribute least and who are unable to protect themselves (“’Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,’ says the LORD; ‘I will place him in the safety for which he longs,’” Psalm 12:5). The current push by “pro-choice” movements in Ireland to repeal the Eighth Amendment in the name of women’s rights is disingenuous, presumptuous and wicked according to God’s law.

God alone is the Author of life. The issues of the beginning and end of life belong only to him. He has made clear in the Bible (his perfect Word to all people in all places) that “Day One” for human life begins at the moment of conception (Psalm 51:5; Job 3:3). The Psalmist David writes of God’s knowledge and love for him while he was still in the womb (Psalm 139:15). Most strikingly, no more than two weeks after the conception of the Lord Jesus, his mother Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, who gave praise and honour to Jesus while he was still in embryonic form (Luke 1:41-44). Jesus was fully human from conception, and so are we.

Since Scripture clearly shows that God alone creates human life, it naturally follows that no human being has an absolute right over their own life or that of another. It also follows that the proposals of the Irish Government to set a 12 week limit on any future legalised abortions in Ireland is entirely arbitrary and flies in the face of logic, science and Biblical teaching. From the moment of conception a new and separate person is formed within the mother, and she has the responsibility to preserve the life of that new person; she does not have the right to take this life or deny its existence as another life.

We recognise that there may be circumstances where both the life of the mother and the life of the unborn child cannot simultaneously be preserved. However, the deliberate killing of an unborn child by abortion can never be justified.

We urge Irish citizens to vote to uphold the Eighth Amendment, a righteous, protective and progressive aspect of the Irish Constitution.

The Public Morals Committee of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland