Sadly, the United Methodist Church is one of a handful of Protestant denominations with clergy who strongly support abortion. LifeNews.com has frequently profiled UMC pastors and church leaders who advance abortion and the denomination has often pushed abortion as a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Now, a pro-life writer has posted a collection of quotes from Methodist pastors pushing abortion. Here are a few selections form that list:
Pro-abortion Methodist pastor John M. Swomley:
It is not enough to say that abortion is not violent. Abortion is a positive decision and not a lesser evil. …[Abortion] is therefore profamily and pro-life. (1)
Rev. Phillip A. Wogamen, then affiliated with Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C.:
Real love for children means having the number of children that one can care for responsibly and lovingly…. Bringing every conceived child into existence is not “pro-life”: it is certainly not pro-love. (3)
Rev. Julia Mayo Quinlan, pastor of Parkway United Methodist Church in Pompano Beach, said the following at a service commemorating the 23rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade sponsored by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:
Pro-choice is about choosing life. And it is moral.
Rev. Karen Vannoy, then pastor of Travis Park United Methodist Church, on her support of abortion:
I am willing to take whatever heat would be generated by my support of what I think is right and in God’s will.
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As LifeNews reported, in Ohio, United Methodist Church pastor, Reverend Laura Young, says she believes pro-life protesters in front of Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities have “misguided faith.” In fact, she thinks these clinics should be blessed, which is why she went out to an abortion facility called Preterm on October 8th in Cleveland. In 2014, Preterm was involved in the abortion-related death of Lakisha Wilson.
Young explained her acceptance of abortion like this: “Christianity, like most faiths, is founded on love. Watching protesters shouting judgment and hate based on what they call religion is horrible. Is that loving God? Is that loving your neighbor as yourself?”
The United Methodist Church’s abortion advocacy is one many reasons millions of Christians have left the denomination and sought home churches that better espouse Biblical concepts and values. As the remaining members age and millennials look for churches that more accurate reflect their pro-life Biblical beliefs, Methodist churches are closing across the country and the denomination is struggling to remain a viable entity within organized Christendom.
