HAMILTON –The fundamental human right to life was strongly affirmed recently by the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, one of four member bodies of the Canadian Baptist Federation. At its 96th annual assembly, held in June at McMaster University, delegates of the 46,000-member Convention passed a resolution containing the following declaration.
The right to life is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person and the only instance where an unborn person should be deprived of life is in the rare case where an abortion would prevent the death of the mother.
The resolution also contained a discussion of the fact that Christians concerned about women in crisis pregnancies sometimes find themselves disagreeing on the abortion issue. It calls on churches to take an active role in educating and giving practical help to women considering abortion.
The resolution was passed by a vote of 299 to 198, after a long debate. In the previous annual assembly a resolution on the same subject had failed to pass, and the Convention’s social concerns committee had been asked to prepare one which would “indicate a sense of compassion, as well as an understanding of all aspects related to the abortion issue.”
