For the Right to Abortion 1975 General Resolution

WHEREAS, every female should be accorded the right to decide whether or not she should bear a child;

WHEREAS, contraceptive methods are not perfect and do not absolutely protect against pregnancy; and

WHEREAS, abortion can be a relatively simple and safe way to terminate a pregnancy;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the delegates at the 1975 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association reaffirm the right of any female of any age or marital or economical status to have an abortion at her own request upon medical/social consultation of her own choosing; and urge all Unitarian Universalists in the United States to resist through their elected representatives the efforts now under way by some members of the Congress of the United States and state legislatures to curtail that right by means of constitutional amendment or other means;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That we urge all Unitarian Universalists and all Unitarian Universalist societies in Canada through the Canadian Unitarian Council to strive for making these rights available in Canada;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the General Assembly deplores the legal persecution by the Canadian authorities of Dr. Henry Morgenthaler for his courageous fight for the abortion rights of Canadian women and his willingness to assist them in exercising those rights. We deplore particularly the attack by the Crown prosecutor on the jury system, which has twice acquitted Dr. Morgenthaler; the mistreatment of Dr. Morgenthaler in prison after his second acquittal; the shocking ruling of the Canadian courts that an Appellate Court can declare a defendant guilty after he has been acquitted by a jury; and the announced intention of the Crown prosecutor to carry on ten more prosecutions of Dr. Morgenthaler for past abortions. The General Assembly commends the Canadian Unitarian Council for its support of Dr. Morgenthaler and requests the CUC to convey the concern of the General Assembly to the Prime Minister of Canada and the Prime Minister of Quebec, and to request the Prime Minister of Canada to procure for Dr. Morgenthaler a royal pardon.