A person is an organism with unique human DNA governing his or her own maturation from conception to natural death. Every person bears the image of God. Any person, therefore, demands our utmost dignity, respect, and protection—man, woman, boy and girl—from the womb to the tomb.
The black community understands well what happens when a small group of people decides to use a different definition of personhood: slavery and death. Abortion represents one small group of people deciding that boys and girls in the womb are not people. The black community has overcome the similar manipulative traps of past tyrants and can do so again in the face of abortion disguised as women’s rights.
Commitment:
We, the pastors of New York recognize the personhood and dignity of every pre-born boy and girl. We commit to leveraging our power and influence to teach, exhort, and even rebuke our community to protect the personhood of all people from fertilization to natural death. An attack on the dignity of one of the least of these children is an attack on the personhood of us all.