National Right to Life News, June, 2008 reports that the United Methodist Church is continuing to move in the pro-life direction.

Back in 1972 the church, America’s second-largest Protestant denomination, officially endorsed legalized abortion, going so far at one point to state that legalized abortion was “in continuity with past Christian teaching.”

What a difference 36 years makes. While the church is still affiliated with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), the recent vote to maintain this alliance was by a margin of only 32 votes out of 800 cast. This was a closer vote than at any previous conference.

Meanwhile, the April 23-May 2 General Conference of the policymaking body decided to:

“Affirm and encourage the Church to assist the ministry of crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers that compassionately help women find feasible alternatives to abortion.”

Delete from a previously adopted statement the assertion that supporting legalized abortion was somehow “[i]n continuity with…