I attended the recent forum organized by the League of Women Voters in hopes of speaking in behalf of the Orthodox Church but I was not allowed to do so at the meeting.
Following is the statement I had prepared to present:
I would like to express my appreciation to the LWV and the Crawfordsville public library for providing a forum for this important issue to be addressed.
When talking about the sensitive issue of abortion there is always the danger of hurting feelings and causing trauma to people’s emotions.
To those whose lives have been impacted by the tragedy of abortion I pray that you will find mercy and healing.
My purpose today is to present the universal witness of the holy Orthodox Church concerning the tragedy of abortion.
A survey of the writings of the holy fathers of the church and of the holy councils makes it clear that abortion is not a new problem but one which the church from the very beginning had to address.
Consider these ancient quotes from the holy fathers and the holy councils:
“Do not murder a child by abortion or kill a newborn infant.”
“Those who furnish drugs for the purpose of procuring abortion and those who take fetus killing poisons, they are made subject to the penalty prescribed for murderers.”
“Those who give potions for the destruction of a child conceived in the womb are murderers as are those who take potions which kill a child.”
Nearly 2,000 years ago a young Jewish girl named Mary conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ. Immediately after the conception she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was already pregnant with John the Baptist.
When she entered the home of Elizabeth the unborn John leaped for joy within the womb at the presence of the Lord: two human beings within the wombs of their mothers interacting with each other.
Each one of us at one point were the same as these. We were growing and developing within our mother’s wombs, our hearts beating, our hands reaching, our legs stretching.
My dear fellow citizens, let us each be thankful for the gift of life that has been given to each one of us and let us work together to protect the lives of the unborn, thank you for your attention.
Father Alex Miller
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church
