An open letter from a Uniting Church minister addressing the upcoming abortion changes has sparked a response from Wagga's church leaders.
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Reverend Simon Hansford penned the letter, welcoming the debate over the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019.
"We reject two extreme positions: that abortion should never be available, and that abortion should be regarded as simply another medical procedure," Reverend Hansford wrote.
"It is not possible to hold one position that can be applied in every case because people's circumstances will always be unique."
It is a position that has been endorsed nationally by the Uniting Church synod, and by Wagga Uniting Church reverend Janice McWhinney, who disclosed her full support for the statement.
South Wagga Anglican minister Scott Goode agrees that presenting a blanket solution to such a complex situation is fraught with difficulty.
"I stand within the classical tradition of Christianity, that sees an unborn baby as a life," he said.
"It seems to me that conception is the best place to determine the starting point for life.
"But classical Christianity has always recognised the need for careful thought [in situations] when a mother's life is in danger or where an unborn baby has no viability for life."
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Wagga Baptist pastor David Strong, however, is seeking to adjust the framework of the conversation in order to balance the rights of all parties.
"My own position is that I celebrate and treasure human life and we as a society should want to do everything that would protect babies in the womb." he said.
"I know that life is complicated and it has been that way since the beginning of time. Even in [pregnancies brought about through] rape, there's still a little life to consider, and an unborn baby has such tremendously high value.
"I would also say that [rape] is only involved in a minority of [abortion] cases and I would hate for that to obscure the point from just how important a little life is."
The bill is to be brought before a conscience vote in the NSW state parliament by the end of the week.
It seeks to remove the criminalisation of abortion in NSW, as it is in Queensland and Victoria.
If successful, it will also amend the medical requirements to "enable a termination of a pregnancy to be performed by a medical practitioner on a person who is not more than 22 weeks pregnant".
In some circumstances, it will also allow for the termination of some pregnancies after 22 weeks.
But it is this removal of caveats and safeguards for abortion that Reverend Goode questions.
"I think we have to weigh carefully the responsibility to the medical health of a woman and her unborn child," Reverend Goode said.
"[In situations where] a woman's health is in danger due to her pregnancy, then there may be a place for termination as a last resort option.
"However, even this will come from a desire to preserve life. Our starting place needs to recognise the value of human life, both mother and child, and any relaxation of laws will undermine the value we attribute to the unborn child. Indeed, changes to NSW law may normalise abortion further and reduce the opportunity for parents to consider their full range of choice, such as carrying through with the pregancy or fostering and adoption.
In one aspect all parties are agreed. Should the law change to decriminalise abortions in NSW or not, the ground has been laid for further discussions on the issue.
"The classical Christian tradition has not simply attributed value to the life of those yet unborn, but has always been involved in the care of everyone, whether they have had an abortion, or whether they have carried through an unwanted pregnancy," Reverend Goode said.
"Jesus taught us not to judge the decisions of others, but to offer care for those we might even disagree with. And so Christian churches and charities have always, and continue to, sought to provide for the welfare of both child and parents in all such circumstances."