Pastor Puts Belief Into Practice in His Work With Planned Parenthood : Rev. Stephen J. Mather of Anaheim’s leadership in the organization brings civil rights award, and continuing protest.

On April 24, the Orange County Human Relations Commission will present the Rev. Stephen J. Mather of First Presbyterian Church in Anaheim one of its 1994 awards for outstanding contributions in the area of human and civil rights. That might not seem very surprising at first. The clergy, after all, is often in the vanguard of the human rights struggle.

But the honoring of Mather may surprise the religious right because he’s being cited for his volunteer work as president of the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties. It will come as no surprise to those who know that the organization provides health care services to thousands of women and men yearly. These services include contraceptive care, cancer screening, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS testing and counseling, prenatal health care and education, pregnancy prevention programs for teens and first-trimester abortions.

When Mather was appointed 16 months ago, he caught the attention of some anti-choice people who believe that being pro-choice and Christian are incompatible. The religious right has attempted over the years to marginalize pro-choice Christians and Jews and to promote the view that all truly religious people share the same beliefs.

However, a significant number of religious organizations are officially pro-choice and believe a woman has the ultimate right to decide when and if she wishes to bear a child. In fact, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (formerly the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights) is supported nationally by some 34 religious organizations. In Southern California these include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ and most non-Orthodox Jewish groups.

Most of the clergy in these denominations are solidly pro-choice and some have been active and visible supporters of this position. However, the firm stand the Rev. Mather has taken is extraordinary. By his public involvement with Planned Parenthood, he has made a commitment to responsible family planning, to women’s health and reproductive rights, and to curbing the burgeoning problem of teen pregnancies.

And it has cost him. On most Sundays for the past 10 months, anywhere from five to 35 demonstrators have gathered outside Mather’s church to protest his work as board president of Planned Parenthood. He has also received letters and telephone calls from people critical of his position.

For the most part, these individuals don’t believe in a woman’s right to control the most basic and intimate decisions about her reproductive life. Nor do they believe in the Rev. Mather’s right to practice his religion or follow his conscience.

By doing so in spite of pressure, he stands in the tradition of people of conscience from the Hebrew prophets to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the other civil rights activists of the 1960s and ‘70s.