Read this article when the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, is guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Because I have really, really, painful news to share with you.
We waited 9 months (October to July - ironically the length of gestation period) to, just this week, witness our hard-fought, biblical position on the life of unborn children be completely terminated by the Health Ministries department.
They were tasked with writing protocols that were to be based upon the church's excellent official statement on abortion.
And the results are in. They have unilaterally aborted our official Statement on the Biblical View of Unborn Life, which was agreed upon almost unanimously by the delegates at the Fall Counsel.
And I don't mean merely a miscarriage of grammar, as if this new document was written in one late evening rush (e.g. "The Statement affirms that the 'the decisions made in such cases...'"). We're all guilty of grammatical errors, such as a double 'the,' from time to time.
I mean that the principles in our church's Statement have been completely ignored, violated, and rendered dead on arrival. (You'll see below that 'therapeutic abortions' even for the 'mental health' of the mother are considered permissible.)
Before hearing one person's analysis of this new document, I invite you to re-read the October 16, 2019 Statement. It's the official Seventh-day Adventist belief on the sanctity of life. It was painstakingly researched and prepared. And the vast, vast majority of not only the delegates, but also the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, affirm this view.
Then compare that official statement with the document released this week by the Health Ministries department, supposedly meant to guide hospitals in implementing the new Statement in their medical practice.
You may want to be sitting down for this. 'Betrayal' would be putting it mildly.
The INTRODUCTION to The New Document
Notice that right out of the gates, in the intro of the new document, they admit that they are only quoting number 6 of the Statement 'in part.'
This document... attempts to provide principles in approaching the difficult situations described in principle number 6 of the Statement, which reads in part: “In rare and extreme cases, human conception may produce pregnancies with fatal prospects and/or acute life-threatening birth anomalies that present individuals and couples with exceptional dilemmas.”
This begs the question, what else does it say in #6 of our Statement? Are they being true to the church's Statement by only quoting #6 'in part'?
Well, read #6 all the way through. You'll discover that the Health Ministries department has left out the language in #6 demanding that decisions about life-threatening dilemmas be "guided by the Holy Spirit and the biblical view of life outlined above."
Wait. What was the biblical view of life outlined above? I would think that definition would be a pretty important variable in the equation to include!
Well, it says unequivocally in our Statement, 'above' #6:
— in #2, "God considers the unborn child as human life,"
— and in #3, "the Sixth Commandment places abortion within its scope."
So, the full #6 of our 2019 abortion statement is telling us that a) there are sometimes dilemmas caused by fatal "prospects" (def. 'possibilities' or 'likelihoods') where life is "threatened." And b) in such situations where life is endangered, the conscience should be led by the Biblical teaching that killing an unborn baby is murder.
Now we see why #6 is only quoted in part.
Our Statement never opened a loophole. It said - hey, remember, if you are taking a life because somebody might die, you're still under the restraint of the Sixth Commandment prohibition against murder when considering taking that life.
The natural implications in the clinical setting would then be to always do everything possible to avoid killing a baby. That's what the protocols should outline in a very practical way if they are true to our church's position on abortion.
But as you'll see below, that language from #6 of the Statement ("guided by the biblical view of life outlined above") is not only absent in the new document, but the new document proceeds to completely contradict the church's Statement altogether.
Mental Health of The Mother ?!?
One of the most horrific aspects of the 1992 statement on abortion was that it allowed abortion in cases when the mother's health is threatened. Not a certain loss of the mother's life. But a mere threat to her health.
And not just her physical health, but even a threat to her mental health! Yes that was actually in the 1992 statement.
Those who believed in the biblical view of abortion outlined in our present Statement were shocked to learn that some people claiming to represent the body of believers actually publicly stated at one point that murder was acceptable to improve somebody's mental health! And that this statement remained for 17 years as your official position!
And thus we rejoiced when we saw all references to the "mother's health" omitted from the 2019 Statement. Praise God for that.
But now we stand in utter dread, once again, to see the language return.
Follow the language here.
The new document states that our institutions will face "rare and unfortunate situations where a therapeutic termination of pregnancy may be indicated."
Um... what do they mean by 'therapeutic'?
Well, the document makes sure to define 'therapeutic abortion' in the 'glossary' section as follows. Brace yourself for the diabolical betrayal embedded in this quotation from the new document. [Reading this statement made this the worst day of 2020 for me. It's absolutely devastating.]
Therapeutic abortion: Abortion induced when pregnancy constitutes a direct and documentable threat to the physical or mental health of the mother, or in the case of a fetus with documented life threatening anomalies that are incompatible with life outside of the womb.
So there you have it, folks. We're right back to the downright evil 1992 statement. The 'mother's health' exception is back. Including mental health.
To be clear:
— The document states overt opposition to abortions for gender selection, convenience, and birth control.
— The document does NOT state any opposition to abortions for the health or mental health of the mother.
— The document PROMOTES "therapeutic abortions", and it defines therapeutic abortions to include abortions intended to improve the mother's mental health.
Why is this so devastating? Feel the gravity of this...
I wonder is it a girl or a boy...? Wow, look at the little fingers... Listen to her little heart beat... Amazing! Your little miracle!
Wait, this mother is not ready for this... giving birth to this baby could harm her mental health... She's considering an abortion...
Take the case to the review board... bring in the social worker and the qualified mental health professional...
Sweetie, I know you're small and can't understand my words, but the decision has been made by professionals and your mother. You need to die. The 'review board' has concluded that it's acceptable to take your life on therapeutic grounds. We're sorry.
That's literally what this document would facilitate. Minus the apology to the victim. Complete and total discretion to define what is therapeutic.
Scott, isn't this hyperbole to say "evil," "diabolical," "betrayal?"
If you believe killing unborn babies is acceptable, then I sound absolutely crazy to you. I'm ok with that.
But if you believe in the biblical teaching outlined in our church's official statement on abortion, then this is genocide, my friends. And that would make my language far too mild.
But for those who aren't feeling the gravity of this, let's employ some less colorful, but more technical language. How about this? This document from the Health Ministries department is a 180 degree reversal of the Statement voted on last year. If they were tasked with remaining true to the church's Statement, then this document gets an F.
Remember, our church's Statement stated that abortion is murder and if you are facing a dilemma that is prospectively fatal or is life-threatening, be aware that taking the life of the baby falls within the Sixth Commandment; and the Statement ruled out by omission any abortion in the case of rape, incest, or the mother's physical or mental health.
But the Health Ministries department has totally defied the church by declaring its intention to put in procedures to allow the killing of unborn babies because... mother's mental health.
If that's not a betrayal, I don't know what is.
These institutions have always preserved life?
In the second paragraph of the document it claims that "since its inception" those people in the health care work, claiming to represent the church, have been there to "save, protect, and preserve life."
Yes, lots of great people over there, to be sure. Except... 50 years... Tens of thousands of murdered babies in these institutions.
That's the legacy of these institutions for half a century when it comes to the abortion issue.
Yet to this day, the Health Ministries department apparently views this genocide that they've participated in as consistently "preserving life."
In that claim and in the protocols outlined in this new document, they are out of harmony with the church, and more importantly in an apostate stance as it relates to the Ten Commandments.
Please, Health Ministries; I urge you, medical institutions... for the sake of not only the innocent lives of these children, but more importantly, for the sake of the souls lost to the cause of truth who shake their heads at a group of commandment keepers who allow murder in their midst - please shred this new statement completely. And start over. Write a document that is true to our church's voted Statement on unborn life. And please own up to and apologize for the half century of bloodshed. Please.
And if you can't bring yourself to do that, can you please do us all a favor, do the cause of truth a favor, and disassociate your rogue activity from the church body who is not behind you on this?
The church has spoken. October 16, 2019 was supposed to be the end of this five decade usurpation. Not merely one man's opinion. Over 98% of Adventists voted in favor of the sentiments expressed in this video. And the Statements Committee and the delegates aligned with the people. Hear once again the testimony of the Word and the voice of the people. This is the Adventist view on the subject.
We will not rest on this issue. It's life or death. And it's spiritual life or death.
Scott Ritsema is the founder and director of Belt of Truth Ministries and Media on the Brain. He lives in Lakeview Michigan with his wife Cami and three amazing children!
www.BeltofTruth.tv
www.11thHourDispatch.com
www.11thHourHealth.com
www.BeltofTruthMinistries.org
[Editor’s note. Questions or concerns regarding the Abortion Protocol document can be directed to the General Conference Adventist Health Ministries Department. The directors are:
Peter Landless
Torben Bergland
Zeno Charles-Marcel
Katia Reinert