ated its commitment to “the sanctity of human life.” United Church of Christ: Addressing himself to “birthing people,” Rev. John Dorhauer, president of the Protestant denomination — which has promoted legal abortion since before Roe v. Wade — pledged, “We will grieve with you, stand with you in protest, kneel with you in prayer” to support “a woman’s right” to abortion. Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, presi-
Diff erence of OpinionHow faith groups view last year’s Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade:
FAVOR United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Southern Baptist Convention Presbyterian Church in America Anglican Church in North America Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Reform/Conservative/Orthodox Jewish congregations
dent of the Unitarian Universalist Church — which also advocated legal- ized abortion prior to Roe — reported in January that since the Dobbs rul- ing, the liberal UUC has organized ballot initiatives, provided training, and is working “across the country” in an eff ort to “keep all or most abor- tions legal.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said its teach- ing — allowing abortion only when pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest or jeopardizes the mother’s life or health — “remains unchanged” by the court’s ruling. But a group calling itself “LDS for Biden-Harris,” reported The Salt Lake Tribune, charged that the Dobbs deci- sion threatens religious liberty. Reform and conservative Jewish
leaders deplored the end of Roe. The Central Conference of Ameri-
can Rabbis termed it “a terrifying moment in American history” that unduly burdens “low-income women and all gender nonconforming indi- viduals who can become pregnant.” It also “violates the First Amend-
ment’s free exercise of religion clause” and “the constitutional separation of church and state,” the conference charged. Yet Orthodox Jewish organizations
like Agudath Israel “fully welcome(d) the ruling,” saying Jewish teaching limits abortion to “certain extraordi- nary circumstances.” While “we do not seek to impose
religious values,” their statement said, “the law should affi rm the supreme value of life.” Islam: National Public Radio cited Dartmouth professor of Islamic Ethics Zahra Ayubi to explain the determina- tion of Islamic scholars “that ensoul- ment occurs 120 days into a pregnan- cy, or just over 17 weeks.” “Prior to that, abortion is permis-
sible under certain circumstances,” NPR quoted Ayubi. While some schools of thought are
more liberal, she said, the “most con- servative opinion is that abortion is permissible only in cases of mortal danger to the mother.” With Roe’s “constitutional right”
to abortion overturned, faith com- munities on both sides have worked — albeit to diff erent ends — through prayer, legislative advocacy, educa- tion, and assistance to women. PBS TV reported religious support-
ers of abortion have joined in “nearly three dozen” lawsuits since January, challenging abortion restrictions in various states. In the recent election cycle, Catho-
lic News Agency reported that Catho- lic dioceses and state bishops’ confer- ences supported pro-life ballot prop- ositions that failed in Kansas and Kentucky, while opposing pro-choice ballot initiatives that passed in Cali- fornia, Michigan, and Vermont. However, two Catholic Ursuline
Sisters — one a co-founder of the Catholic social justice lobby Network — publicly opposed the Kansas pro- life proposal, Religion News Service reported, saying it “impose(s) reli-
OPPOSED United Methodist Church Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Episcopal Church Central Conference of American Rabbis United Church of Christ Unitarian Universalist Association
gious beliefs on all Kansans.” They called instead for “support-
ing pro-life choices by providing bet- ter healthcare, parental leave, Med- icaid, and other support for poor women” — an approach church lead- ers also embrace, in addition to legal protections for the unborn. The United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops is also prioritizing its Walking With Moms in Need pro- gram, through which Catholic parish- es and communities provide support for pregnant and parenting women. Episcopal leaders, calling for “peaceful protests” of Dobbs, have produced a “liturgy template” for a “service of lament and healing,” Epis- copal News Service reported. The Central Conference of Ameri-
can Rabbis urged Congress “to enact federal legislation guaranteeing safe and legal abortion”; vowed to oppose restrictive state abortion laws; and promised to “support members who need abortion care.” Imam Shuaib Din of the Utah
Islamic Center argued that promot- ing moral and family values should be the priority. “The imam,” The Salt Lake Tri-
bune reported, “said premarital sex and teenage pregnancy are driving factors in a majority of abortion cases, and that Islam ‘nips the problem in the bud’ by teaching abstinence. He said Utahns should focus on having healthy and strong families. “If our moral compass is pointing
in the right direction,” he said, “then this would not have been a big con- cern to begin with.”
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