#StandWithPP -- All Saints Church Goes Pink for Planned Parenthood

All Saints Church in Pasadena has a long history as a prayerfully pro-choice church. Today I was honored to stand with my staff colleagues AND stand with Planned Parenthood in support of the tremendous work they do across the nation providing reproductive health care to women, men and families on the margins.

As our friends at Catholics for Choice put it: “Defunding Planned Parenthood would give the least among us even less.”


“All Saints Church has been a prayerfully pro-choice church since 1989,” said my rector Ed Bacon. “Planned Parenthood’s work in advancing women’s rights and promoting social justice is sacred work that should be celebrated and supported, not attacked, lied about and defunded.”

PRO CHOICE POSITION STATEMENT
Adopted by the Vestry of All Saints Church, Pasadena, CA, October 23, 1989
Reaffirmed by the Vestry of All Saints Church, Pasadena, CA, April 13, 2004

The Vestry of All Saints Episcopal Church,
— Reaffirming its commitment to the sacredness of life;
— Deeply concerned about the efforts to deny women the safe and legal abortions protected under Roe vs. Wade (1973); and
— Convinced that a pregnant woman is the moral agent in the profound and personal decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy; and convinced that this belief is consistent with the Judeo-Christian understanding of God’s empowerment of each person with the freedom to make choices, and the responsibility for those choices,

Affirms
— That no law should be enacted to force an unwilling woman to give birth to an unwanted child, within the parameters of Roe vs. Wade. A pregnant woman has the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy or to bear a child. She has the right to have access to information and counsel. She has the right to privacy in making this decision, without intrusion by the state. Safe abortion must be available to all, regardless of their economic circumstances.
— That we will renew our efforts within the parish and throughout the nation to create a society in which abortion is less and less a necessary option. In our efforts to construct a loving society, where unwanted pregnancies do not occur, we advocate responsible expressions of human sexuality in the context of love and commitment. We commit ourselves to assuring the quality of life for each child born in this world.