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Can one be Christian and pro-choice? Can one be a Christian clergyman/woman and pro-choice?
A growing number of clergy are coming out in support of abortion. Here are their statements, along with pictures of what they are supporting.
Rev. Betty Bone Schiess
Episcopal Church Priest
"It's a spiritual rape to deny a woman the right to make a moral and ethical
decision, from our tradition, we deeply respect the fact that every member of
our faith has the right to make this ethical choice. It's clearly a violation of
the First Amendment, which guarantees men the right to be conscientious
objectors during war."
The Post-Standard, 300,000 Rally for 'Choice' leaders claim majority on abortion issue:4-10-1989
"Christianity has always emphasized the importance of responsible decision making, and nothing is more important than the decision of when, or whether, to have children .... one thing I know from the Bible is that Jesus was not against women having a choice in continuing a pregnancy...Jesus was for peace on earth, justice on earth, compassion on earth, mercy on earth, and choice on earth."
Excerpts from the November 22, 2002 letter by Mark Bigelow, Congregational Church of Huntington, United Church of Christ, Centerport, New York, board member of Planned Parenthood of the Hudson-Peconic and a member of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, to Bill O'Reilly of Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor."
Rev. Karen Vannoy
pastor , Travis Park United Methodist Church
"I am willing,to take whatever heat would be generated by my
support of what I think is right and in God's will."
Vannoy is a member of the local Planned Parenthood board.
Reverend Howard Moody created a coalition of pro-choice clergy members who referred women to illegal abortion practitioners before Roe v. Wade. He and his organization were responsible for arranging tens of thousands of abortions. From the speech "The Unfinished Revolution of Pro-Choice: Beyond Sound-Bites and Slogans"
"My understanding of free choice is that the right to choose is a God-given right with which persons are endowed. Without choice, life becomes a meaningless routine and humans become robots. Freedom of choice is what makes us human and responsible. And for women, the preeminent freedom is the choice to control her reproductive process. Any theological or moral arguments that subordinate a woman’s freedom to the imaginary screams of a fetus... will be less than human, no matter how much talk there is about the “preciousness of life....there is no law so oppressive and no economic policy so dehumanizing as that which consigns a woman, because she is poor, to involuntary servitude on behalf of an unwanted burden for unnumbered years of her life."
This speech was given at the annual meeting of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice on September 17, 1997
From pro-choice Reverend Bernice Powell Jackson, from the speech "Seeing the World Through Women's Eyes" delivered on September 18, 1995 to the annual meeting of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:
"We say no to violence—all violence—clinic violence, domestic violence, drive-by violence....We say a woman’s right to make all the choices about her own life and those of her family is a fundamental human right that most Americans believe in."
From a speech to the California Republican League on September 26, 1998 by Reverent Ann Hayman:
"What are our deepest values? How do we feel about an ideological shift that makes a fetus a patient and a person? Nowhere in Scripture either Hebrew or Christian are any such claims made."
From a sermon called "Faithful Witnesses for Choice" by the Reverend Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragdale delivered to the National Abortion Federation at their annual meeting in 1997:
"We are pro-choice because we are for women, and men, and children, and families who struggle to be faithful to God’s will for them in the face of the very real complexities of their lives. We are pro-choice not because we know that the decisions they make will always be the right ones, but that we understand that that is something that we never can know. So we leave the outcome in God’s hands, and in the meantime, we provide the women who turn to us with every resource at our disposal to help them make and act on the difficult choices they face. Women making these decisions need to know that they have our respect, that we honor and celebrate them for making and acting on and living with complicated ethical decisions. They need to know that we are prayerfully prochoice."
From "Pro-Prayer, Pro-Family, Pro-Choice" by Reverend Julia Mayo Quinlan, who is pastor of the Chinese Methodist Church in New York. She addressed a service commemorating the 23rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:
"Pro-choice is about choosing life. And it is moral."
In a sermon intended to say how to explain abortion to children, Reverend Colleen M. McDonald said this:
"Life is very precious, and abortion is a decision that shouldn’t be made without thinking about it very carefully. For many people, it is a very sad decision. But it’s also very sad when babies are born to parents who can’t give them the things and the love that will help them grow up healthy and happy. Being a parent is animportant job, and all babies who come into our world deserve families who will welcome them and take very good care of them. That is what I have to say about abortion."
This sermon was delivered to a group of children on January 18, 1994.
From "Words of Hope" by Dr. James Armstrong, Senior Minister of First Congregational Church in Florida. This sermon was delivered on March 24, 1993:
"We are here, aren’t we? For too long we have been standing on the sidelines—at least some of us have—while forces of right-wing bigotry have held sway. There are people gathered together in this room who have never been together before. We are joining hands to say, “We are committed to the rights of women. We are committed to doctors and clinics that are meeting the needs of women...." Congress is considering two proposals at the present time, a Freedom of Choice Act and a Freedom of Access to Clinics Act. There is hope."
From "Choice: A Declaration of Faith" by Bishop Melvin G. Talbert of the Methodist faith, speaking at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego on August 12, 1996:
"I am here this morning to join with you from many religious and political persuasions to declare our unequivocal stand for choice...My sisters and brothers, we are dealing with something that is deeply spiritual and cannot be left to those who would choose to politicize this issue and further victimize those who must ultimately decide for themselves....It is my humble opinion that “Pro-Choice” is the only viable option the faith community can support. Our faith compels us to respect others’ values, life circumstances and decisions. May we let our voices be heard...as we respond to those who would dare to use coercion to codify their theological positions in the laws of this nation. Say “No!” to coercion and “Yes!” to “Pro-Choice!” I believe that is the only choice before us. Amen!"
