National Pro-Life Religious Council
The National Pro-Life Religious Council (NPRC) is a Christian coalition representing numerous Christian anti-abortion denominations and organizations in the United States.
Its goal is to promote the view that Christianity is an anti-abortion faith "which acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and is called to affirm and witness to the Biblical standard of the value, dignity, and sanctity of human life."[1] The organization was started in opposition to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) and other similar organizations.
The NPRC seeks to educate Christians on what they believe to be the biblical basis of the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death, also opposing euthanasia and stem-cell research. Its current president is Father Frank Pavone, who is also the National Director of Priests for Life, and its board meets quarterly in Washington, DC. The NPRC also sponsors educational conferences and funds the publication of anti-abortion books which promote the Christian anti-abortion message. It also publishes a quarterly newsletter called "Uniting for Life" which is sent to its contributing members on a quarterly basis.
The organization's current members are:
- Anglicans for Life
- Catholics Called to Witness
- CEC for Life, anti-abortion wing of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
- Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
- Family Research Council
- Lifewatch, Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality
- Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
- Lutherans for Life International
- National Clergy Council
- NIFLA (National Institute of Family and Life Advocates)
- National Right to Life Committee
- Priests for Life
- Presbyterians Pro-Life
- The Issachar Imperative.[2]
Books
The NPRC has also published the following books which explain its position on abortion (by date):
Stallsworth, Paul, ed.. The Church and Abortion. Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 1993.
Stallsworth, Paul, ed.. The Right Choice. Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 1997.
Stallsworth, Paul, ed.. Thinking Theologically about Abortion. Anderson, IN: Bristol House, 2000.
Gorman, Michael, J. & Ann Loar Brooks. Holy Abortion? A Theological Critique of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2003.
Di Mauro, Dennis R. A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008.