Reform of Abortion Statutes 1963 General Resolution

WHEREAS, we as Unitarian Universalists are deeply concerned for dignity and rights of human beings; and

WHEREAS, the laws which narrowly circumscribe or completely prohibit termination of pregnancy by qualified medical practitioners are an affront to human life and dignity; and

WHEREAS, these statutes drive many women in the United States and Canada to seek illegal abortions with increased risk of death, while others must travel to distant lands for lawful relief;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: That the Unitarian Universalist Association support enactment of a uniform statute making abortion legal if:

  1. There would be grave impairment of the physical or mental health of the mother;
  2. The child would be born with a serious physical or mental defect;
  3. Pregnancy resulted from rape or incest;
  4. There exists some other compelling reason — physical, psychological, mental, spiritual, or economic.