What is the Position of the Episcopal Church on Abortion and Reproductive Rights?

In this time after the Dobbs decision and the repeal of Federal protections for access to abortion, I have been asked several times about the Episcopal Church’s position on Abortion and Reproductive Rights.

First, it is essential to note that the Episcopal Church does not have a singular position. We do not have a teaching magisterium like the Roman Catholic church, which promulgates our church’s “Official” position. Instead, Episcopalians are used to a more prominent role of individual conscience in working out the authoritative sources of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason that make up the “Anglican Three-Legged Stool.” However, resolutions of the General Convention are binding as the highest source of juridical authority in the denomination, so by the end of this article, we will be able to say that some public policy tenets are clear.

This entire debate hinges on a philosophical/religious question. It’s often phrased as “When does human life begin?” But that is a red herring. Human cells of all kinds are both created and destroyed every day in a variety of contexts. Those are all “Human Life.” The actual question is, “When does human personhood begin?” We must realize that we are talking about a problem that science CAN NOT answer, as “Personhood” is, by definition, a question of philosophy and religion.

The Hebrew Scriptures are clear when human personhood begins — it is at first breath. Genesis 2:7 states,

“The Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life.” (CEB)

Job 33:4 reads,

“The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (NRSV).

Ezekiel 5–6 reads,

“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ (NRSV)

Ezekiel continues later (37:8–10),

“I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.” (NRSV)

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Ruach, the breath of God, gives life — Nefesh. Nefesh is not just cellular activity — it means “Vital Spirit” or “Soul.” I believe much of our modern moral confusion comes from conflating a scientific term, “Life,” with the Biblical concept of personhood, or ensoulment.

Likewise, In the Christian Testament, Revelations 11:11 states,

“But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified.” (NRSV)

Without breath, there is no life (Nefesh-Personhood). Therefore, biblically, anything that has not received the breath is, by definition, not alive and, therefore, not yet a person.

Furthermore, while a fetus may have value as a “Potential person,” it is evident Biblically that it does not have the same ethical value as the woman who bears it. In Exodus 21:22, killing a woman is a capital crime, but causing her to miscarry is not:

When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. (NRSV)

So while Biblically, it is clear that a fetus has value, it is also equally clear that it is not considered to have the same value as a human who has had breath enter them and is therefore fully “Alive.” Consequently, the traditional Biblical idea of when “Personhood” begins is at first breath. This interpretation was the majority view of all Protestants, particularly evangelicals who followed lieralist views, until the 1970s. (For some background on how that changed, see here.)

Christian arguments against abortion are usually non-Biblical. They flow from Roman Catholic theological reasoning that only came to full fruition in 1965. Arguments that attempt to use Biblical prohibitions against killing run afoul of Exodus 21:22, where a forced miscarriage is not held as murder. Arguments that use the Psalms’ language about God knowing the psalmist “from their mother’s womb” or being ‘formed in their mother’s womb” ignore the basic tenet of faith that God is omnipotent. God knows everything as it is being formed, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral.

Biblical thinking informs the many resolutions the Episcopal Church’s General Convention has passed regarding women’s reproductive rights since 1967. (There’s an exhaustive list here, only missing the one from our latest convention in 2022, which is linked below.) A common strain from these resolutions is acknowledgement that abortion does have a moral dimension.

1988-C047 states:

All human life is sacred. Hence, it is sacred from its inception until death. The Church takes seriously its obligation to help form the consciences of its members concerning this sacredness. Human life, therefore, should be initiated only advisedly and in full accord with this understanding of the power to conceive and give birth which is bestowed by God.

It also states that:

We regard all abortion as having a tragic dimension, calling for the concern and compassion of all the Christian community.

Abortion is something that is considered inappropriate as a primary means of birth control or any other “reason of mere convenience.”

However, we also recognize in 2022-D083:

that pregnancy and childbirth are dangerous undertakings that risk permanent disability and death for those who bear children

Therefore, this is a matter for a woman of faith to take into advisement with their health care provider and community of faith. As 1988-C047 States:

Whenever members of this Church are consulted with regard to a problem pregnancy, they are to explore, with grave seriousness, with the person or persons seeking advice and counsel, as alternatives to abortion, other positive courses of action, including, but not limited to, the following possibilities: the parents raising the child; another family member raising the child; making the child available for adoption.

While a pregnant woman should seek and receive counsel, the final decision rests with her regarding health, bodily autonomy, morality, and religion. The church’s implied opinion, backed by Biblical reasoning, is that the potential personhood of the fetus does not equal the full personhood of the pregnant woman. Therefore, the pregnant woman is the proper, final and only determinant of whether or not to bear the pregnancy to term.

Therefore, any governmental interference in that moral and religious decision is an abridgment of an Episcopal woman’s religious rights. 2022-D083 states,

“the protection of religious liberty extends to all Episcopalians who may need or desire to access, to utilize, to aid others in the procurement of, or to offer abortion services.”

For this reason, since 1967, the Episcopal Church has expressed

“its unequivocal opposition to any legislation on the part of the national or state governments which would abridge or deny the right of individuals to reach informed decisions in this matter and to act upon them.” (1976-D095)

The Episcopal Church’s teachings about abortion allow for much latitude. Individual Episcopalians may agree or disagree with the statements of the General Convention and may hold a variety of opinions around these moral issues. However, the public policy imperative for our church is clear. Since 1967, our church has supported the position that abortion is a decision with health, moral and religious dimensions that should ultimately be made by the woman involved. The church opposes any action that puts state or federal governments inside the decision-making loop.

Therefore, when Episcopal advocacy organizations, clergy, or laity act in the public sphere to protect women’s access to reproductive health, they are articulating what has been the church’s clear public policy for 55 years. Likewise, Episcopal women denied reproductive care, including abortion, are entitled to make the legal argument that their religious beliefs have been violated.