ABORTION
SELECTED TEACHINGS
President Spencer W. Kimball
“Abortion is a growing evil that we speak against.
Certainly the terrible sin of premeditated abortion
would be hard to justify. It is almost inconceivable
that an abortion would ever be committed to save face
or embarrassment, to save trouble or inconvenience,
or to escape responsibility. How could one submit
to such an operation or be party in any way by
financing or encouraging? If special rare cases could
be justified, certainly they would be rare indeed. We
place it high on the list of sins against which we
strongly warn the people.
“‘Abortion must be considered one of the most
revolting and sinful practices in this day, when we
are witnessing the frightful evidence of permissiveness
leading to sexual immorality.’ (Priesthood Bulletin,
February 1973, p. 1.)” (in Conference Report, Apr.
1974, 8; or Ensign,May 1974, 7).
President Gordon B. Hinckley
“Question 3: What is your position on abortion?
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, there were more than 1,200,000 abortions
performed in 1995 in the United States alone. What
has happened to our regard for human life? How
can women, and men, deny the great and precious
gift of life, which is divine in its origin and nature?
“How wonderful a thing is a child. How beautiful is
a newborn babe. There is no greater miracle than
the creation of human life.
“Abortion is an ugly thing, a debasing thing, a thing
which inevitably brings remorse and sorrow and
regret.
“While we denounce it, we make allowance in such
circumstances as when pregnancy is the result of
incest or rape, when the life or health of the mother
is judged by competent medical authority to be in
serious jeopardy, or when the fetus is known by
competent medical authority to have serious defects
that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth.
“But such instances are rare, and there is only a
negligible probability of their occurring. In these
circumstances, those who face the question are asked
to consult with their local ecclesiastical leaders and
to pray in great earnestness, receiving a confirmation
through prayer before proceeding.
“There is a far better way.
“If there is no prospect of marriage to the man
involved, leaving the mother alone, there remains the
very welcome option of placing the child for adoption
by parents who will love it and care for it. There are
many such couples in good homes who long for a
child and cannot have one” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1998, 91–92; or Ensign,Nov. 1998, 71).
“You who are wives and mothers are the anchors of
the family. You bear the children. What an enormous
and sacred responsibility that is. I am told that
between 1972 and 1990 there were 27 million
abortions in the United States alone. What is
happening to our appreciation of the sanctity of
human life? Abortion is an evil, stark and real and
repugnant, which is sweeping over the earth. I plead
with the women of this Church to shun it, to stand
above it, to stay away from those compromising
situations which make it appear desirable. There
may be some few circumstances under which it can
occur, but they are extremely limited and for the
most part improbable. You are the mothers of the
sons and daughters of God, whose lives are sacred.
Safeguarding them is a divinely given responsibility
which cannot be lightly brushed aside” (“Walking
in the Light of the Lord,” Ensign,Nov. 1998, 99).Elder Boyd K. Packer
“Whatever the laws of man may come to tolerate, the
misuse of the power of procreation, the destroying
of innocent life through abortion, and the abuse
of little children are transgressions of enormous
proportion. For cradled therein rests the destiny of
innocent, helpless children” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1986, 21; or Ensign,Nov. 1986, 18).
“Nowhere is the right of choice defended with more
vigor than with abortion. Having chosen to act,
and a conception having occurred, it cannot thenAbortion is an evil, stark and
real and repugnant, which is
sweeping over the earth.
—President Gordon B. Hinckley1