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Luke (1:38-45) "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord."

Canon XCL Quinisext Council

Those who give drugs for procuring abortion, and those who receive poisons to kill the foetus, are subjected to the penalty of murder.

Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in America today. In this article I will attempt to articulate an Orthodox perspective which has not been discussed in any of the Orthodox articles I have read. It is not an all-inclusive article simply because I cannot treat such a topic in this limited way.

As Orthodox we say clearly that abortion is murder and all those involved in the process, via counseling, the performing of the abortion itself or in any way support it, are in fact responsible, if not directly, then indirectly, in the murder of the infant. There are no exceptions, i.e., there is no justifiable abortion under any circumstances. If an Orthodox bishop or priest states otherwise, he is not being truthful about the teaching of the Church.

Governments can pass laws that are immoral and Orthodox Christians have through the centuries refused to obey those laws. Men, women and children died as martyrs rather than submit to immoral laws. They knew full well what Christ meant when he said, (Mat 22:21) "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." This has not changed for us today.

The Church in teaching us that abortion is murder presents a clear choice that an individual can make. This truth is not only for Orthodox. It is for everyone because it is God’s law which is taught. Our government has legalized abortion. It neither means it is God’s law nor that it is good for the country. The Church must speak out and defend the truth and present the consequences to those who reject the truth. The consequences are severe: for those who refuse to acknowledge their sin it means rejecting God for all eternity, if there is no repentance.

The key is to understand that unless we know our actions are wrong, immoral or sinful then there is no movement to repent. The pro-abortionists and pro-choice groups in supporting the legalization of abortion are in fact attempting to cover up the recognition of the horrific act done when a pregnant woman accepts to abort her child. The same can be said for those involved in all aspects of carrying this act out.

The effort is to remove any sense of guilt for the act committed. By saying that it is the law of the land it therefore means abortion is not wrong or sinful, hence, there is no guilt or need to repent. Why would someone repent if he believed that what he had done was good? Abortion becomes, for these groups, just another form of contraception and thus, prevents more children from being born. It is population control, especially for the poor and weak in this world. Abortion is therefore good and beneficial for society. If they thought otherwise it could not be supported.

Because it is legal those involved in abortion are told to not feel guilty for what they have done, thus even if there is a recognition that something is wrong, they have no way of ever finding peace. The only way they will be healed is through reconciliation by Jesus Christ in the Church: by confessing their sins and being forgiven through Christ. For that to happen they have to recognize they have done something wrong and then they can cry out, Lord, forgive me, for I have sinned.

It is precisely this point which is ignored or overlooked in the debate because it would undermine the premise that abortion is good. Every Orthodox knows that he can be forgiven his sins if he confesses them, repents and changes how he lives, for the God we worship is loving, merciful, long-suffering and forgiving and all we need to do to be embraced in His love is cry out ’Lord, have mercy.

To those who are not Orthodox and who have been involved in abortion but do not know how to remove the guilt for their sin, listen to what the Orthodox Church teaches. Through baptism your sins will be forgiven and you can begin a new life and you will be reconciled with Jesus Christ, God-Man. The first step is to say, I have sinned for I have murdered my child. This step alone will begin to lift the millstone from around your necks and baptism will unite you to Christ.

Rahab the harlot was not a virtuous woman, but she believed in the Most High God. Her house became a symbol of the household of right belief. The spies of Israel said to her, after the fall of Jericho: whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house in the street, his blood shall be upon his head (Jos 2:19).

As Orthodox Christians it is our responsibility to present the teachings of the Church to all so that all who have ears to hear may be delivered from falsehood and turn to Christ for to reject this truth is to have his blood upon his head.

For Orthodox Christians abortion should never be considered as a way to hide the sin of fornication, for all is not hopeless. "Thou knowest the name and age of each, even from his mother's womb. For Thou, O Lord, art the Helper of the helpless, the Hope of the hopeless, the Saviour of the bestormed, the Haven of the voyager, the Physician of the sick. Be all things to all men, O Thou who knowest each man and his request, his home and his need." (Prayer from the Liturgy of St. Basil)

As Orthodox we must never forget that God loves us and forgives us if we will come to him in repentance and beg His forgiveness through the Church. It is this love of God that needs to be communicated to those who have no knowledge of the incarnation and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If we, as Orthodox, are to have any impact upon changing opinions on the abortion issue, then we must set the example by living our faith: to live in virginity and purity and to keep our marriage beds chaste.

Father John Fleser