c. 2008 Religion News Service

Study finds abortion at lowest rate since 1974

WASHINGTON (RNS) Abortion rates have reached their lowest since 1974, according to a new study of U.S. abortion clinics released by the Guttmacher Institute.

The study found that both abortion rates and the total number of abortions have declined, though one in five pregnancies ends in abortion.

In 2005, the abortion rate declined to 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, according to the study, after peaking in 1981 at a rate of 29.3 per 1,000 women.

The total number of abortions dipped to 1.2 million in 2005, from its all-time high of 1.6 million in 1990.

The Guttmacher Institute is an independent research firm that specializes in sexuality and reproductive health. It was formerly a division of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The study cited a possible explanation for the decrease in abortions: early nonsurgical abortion medications, such as the French pill RU-486, that are more readily available and used than ever before. Fifty-seven percent of abortion providers now offer medication abortion services; only 33 percent did in early 2001. Medication abortions accounted for 13 percent of all abortions in 2005.

“Currently, more than six in 10 abortions occur within the first eight weeks of pregnancy, and almost three in 10 take place at six weeks or earlier,” said Rachel Jones, lead researcher, in a news release. “Medication abortion, which provides women with an additional option early in pregnancy, clearly reinforces this very positive trend.”

Anti-abortion groups, however, found little to cheer about.

“It is no less tragic, each life is precious,” said Randall K. O’Bannon, director of education and research for the National Right to Life Committee. “If we are down to 1.2 million abortions, that’s still 1.2 babies being killed.”

O’Bannon added that women are only trading one set of risks in for another when they opt for early medication abortion over surgery.

_ Greg Trotter

Pastor challenges IRS rules on pulpit politicking

(RNS) A Wisconsin pastor has challenged the Internal Revenue Service by writing an open letter that criticizes rules against ministers getting too political in their pulpits.

In a full-page advertisement published in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday (Jan. 16), Pastor Kenneth Taylor of Calvary Assembly of God in Algoma, Wis., dared the IRS to investigate a November 2006 sermon he preached about faith and elections.

“The clergy of every church, synagogue, temple and other religious group in the country should be able to preach freely, without the IRS looking over their shoulders and parsing every word,” said Taylor.

“That kind of government intrusion into religious assemblies is what dictatorships do, not democracies.”

Taylor is being defended by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which paid for the ad and believes the IRS has interpreted the law too broadly and is intimidating faith leaders.

“Churches and other houses of worship have always been unique places where Americans discuss how their deepest beliefs intersect with their daily lives,” said Kevin “Seamus” Hasson, founder and president of the Washington-based law firm. “The IRS should not be allowed to stop that conversation by threatening to strip a church’s tax exemption.”

Taylor cited the IRS’ recent investigation of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif., saying the agency “all but admitted” it couldn’t enforce rules against it. Last year, the IRS informed the Pasadena church that its tax-exempt status would remain intact despite an anti-war sermon officials said “constituted prohibited political campaign intervention.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State said the ad contains “grossly inaccurate” information about partisan politicking in churches.

“Churches are perfectly free to talk about issues,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the Washington-based watchdog group.

“But they are not free to abuse their tax exemptions and endorse political candidates. This ad could mislead clergy into deep tax trouble.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Head of Catholic Church in Germany steps down

COLOGNE, Germany (RNS) Cardinal Karl Lehmann, who has led Germany’s 25 million Roman Catholics for two decades, has said he will resign next month, citing health reasons.

Lehmann, 72, has served as chairman of the German Conference of Bishops for almost 21 years. He has served in the position longer than any previous bishop and is a well-known religious figure in Germany.

In his resignation letter, Lehmann explained that he is suffering from heart problems, and needs to leave the job to care for his health.

“I am grateful to have been allowed to fulfill this service for so long with the strength God gave me. Now, however, a clear break has been reached,” he wrote.

While leaving the chairman position, Lehmann said he plans to remain active in the Archdiocese of Mainz, where he has been bishop since 1983. The cardinal will officially step down Feb. 18, after the spring meeting of the country’s bishops in Wurzburg.

A friend of Pope Benedict XVI, who is also German, Lehmann is credited with helping the German church improve relations with Jews.

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said Lehmann was not only a “reliable and trustworthy partner,” but that he developed a “deep human connection” with the cardinal.

Relations with Muslims, however, have been more rocky. Last June, he angered many Muslims when he suggested that Islam did not deserve equal standing with Christianity in Germany. He said the Christian faith’s historical role in shaping European law and society made it special.

“The deep cultural connection between Christianity and our legal state, that goes back to the Middle Ages and before, cannot simply be ignored,” he is reported to have said.

_ Ian Wilhelm

Quote of the Day: Jessica Gilmore of Irvington, Ala.

(RNS) “Hush now, babies, it’s all OK, you went home with God today. He will hug you when you are sad, give you a life you never had.”

_ Jessica Gilmore, 18, of Irvington, Ala., singing at a candlelight vigil in Bayou La Batre, Ala., for Kieu Ngoc Phan, who is mourning the deaths of her four children. Police believe her husband threw the children _ ages 3, 2, 1 and 4 months _ off a bridge. She was quoted by the Press-Register in Mobile.

KRE DS END RNS