Three GA07 Resolutions of Special Interest to DFC

At the 2008 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Fort Worth, TX, there were three resolutions of particular concern to Disciples for Choice.

The first, Resolution 0730, was an item for reflection and research entitled Concerning the Ethical Provision of Health Care in a Religiously Pluralistic Society. This resolution seeks to deal constructively with the "increasing trend among health care institutions and individual health care providers not merely to arrive at their own particular decisions and set of values, but further to act in ways which impose these decisions and values upon others, thereby manifesting a lack of respect for the free exercise of conscience by patients and constricting the health services made available to the general public." In response this situation, Resolution 0730 calls upon the church to affirm "the healing ministry of Jesus Christ" within the context of "the First Amendment protection of freedom of religion and the democratic values that unite our citizens," and to "accept for reflection and research The Provision of Health Care in a Pluralistic Society, a document produced for study in communities of faith by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

The second, Resolution 0725, was a sense-of-the-assembly resolution on abortion. Entitled "Proactive Prevention: Seeking Common Ground on the Issue of Abortion," the resolution called upon all manifestations of the church to, among other things, repent of "the sin of vilifying" people based on their views on reproductive choice, engage in "age appropriate health and sexuality education paired with Christian spirituality for adults and youth," support women "who have had abortions or who face difficult decisions regarding pregnancy," advocate "for pregnancy counseling and adequate health care for women and families," and work to provide "affordable daycare facilities in underserved neighborhoods, college campuses and other areas where children and families, have the greatest need."


The third resolution of interest to DFC was Resolution 0724, a sense-of-the-assembly resolution on children's health care. This resolution called upon our congregations, regions, general units, and constituency groups to (1) “address issues of children's health care, Biblically and theologically,” (2) “educate themselves, their communities and their elected officials on children's health care nationally and locally,” and (3) “advocate for immediate action to ensure health and mental health care for every child in America in 2007 as a first step to adequate health care for all."

DFC supported this resolution for two reasons: First, the strong belief that "adequate health care for all" should include reproductive health care and therefore would potentially enhance the possibilities that adequate reproductive health care would become more universally available; and second, a better health care system for our children would help create a situation in which more options are available to women--especially poor women--when making informed decisions about possibly terminating a pregnancy."

To read these and all GA07 resolutions, PLEASE CLICK HERE.