I feel the need to respond to Rabbi Dennis S. Ross' recent letter on behalf of Concerned Clergy for Choice ("Woman's decision a personal choice," Feb. 21).
Rabbi Ross is right in saying certain parts of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed "women's equality agenda" are positive, especially as they relate to human trafficking and domestic violence. But the governor's proposal on abortion is destructive and should be seen that way by all clergy and people of faith.
As a pastor, my role is to guide, instruct and counsel the men, women and children who are entrusted to my care. In counseling a woman who came to me for guidance about an unplanned pregnancy, I could never take the approach that abortion is simply "her body, her choice." If I did not encourage that woman to choose life, I would be abdicating my responsibilities as a pastor.
In speaking out about a matter of public policy, my responsibility is to speak the truths of the Christian faith. The truth is that it is displeasing to God not to treat both a pregnant woman and her unborn baby as being valuable and worthy of our compassion and respect.
A clergy person who does not speak this truth is no true representative of the living God, especially when there are innocent lives at stake. I ask the Concerned Clergy for Choice to reconsider its stance.
Paul Koehn pastor, Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Albany