National Association of Evangelicals Is Wrong to Recommend Contraceptives

I’m angry to see the National Association of Evangelicals is recommending contraceptives in an effort to stem surgical abortions in America. Here’s an excerpt from their new resolution on abortion: “The Church is understandably reluctant to recommend contraception for unmarried sexual partners, given that it cannot condone extramarital sex. However, it is even more tragic when unmarried individuals compound one sin by conceiving and then destroying the precious gift of life.”

In other words, the NAE is “reluctantly” promoting contraception in an effort to reduce the number of surgical abortions. This utilitarian justification falls short not only because it promotes an “end justifies the means” mentality, but because it is devoid of science and plain understanding. Many contraceptives that unmarried sexual partners use (including the Pill, the patch, the morning-after pill, and IUDs) are abortifacient in function, meaning they can have the same end result as a surgical abortion performed with a scalpel: a dead child. Advocating increased access to abortifacient chemicals because they would reduce the number of surgical abortions is like buying liquor to drink at home because you don’t want to trek out to the bar just to get drunk.

The idea stems from the perhaps subconscious attitude among many pro-lifers that only surgical abortions “count”. Indeed, the post Roe vs. Wade abortion statistics cited by pro-lifers typically only refer to the number of children killed in surgical abortions. If we included the statistics for the number of babies killed each year by chemical abortifacient such as the Pill, the numbers would likely be beyond comprehension.

The NAE has the means for in-depth research and study into the effects of many contraceptives; they should know better than to issue a pro-contraceptive resolution without first taking the steps to understand the effects of the remedy they recommend. As long as this resolution does not clearly reject abortifacient methods of contraception, I fear it may deceive many into believing all methods of contraception are acceptable and ethical. If so, then the resolution only enables the further destruction of human life.

Read the resolution: http://www.nae.net/government-affairs/policy-resolutions/446-abortion-2010