Posted on Jun 2, 2022
‘Theocratic’ US abortion bans will violate religious liberty, faith leaders say
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Misha Sanders was starting over. She had just left an abusive relationship, and she was in her first semester of seminary, all while caring for her child, a teenager with a pressing health problem.
That’s when she found out she was pregnant. Sanders took misoprostol and mifepristone, the two drugs known collectively as the abortion pill, to end the pregnancy.
The decision, she says, was deeply entwined with her religious beliefs, which include respecting full bodily autonomy and caring for other people – core beliefs of Unitarian Universalism, which she practices.
“The only decision that I could make, as a loving mother, was to focus on mothering this child that I brought into the world and terminating this new pregnancy,” Sanders said. “It was absolutely the right decision.”
That’s when she found out she was pregnant. Sanders took misoprostol and mifepristone, the two drugs known collectively as the abortion pill, to end the pregnancy.
The decision, she says, was deeply entwined with her religious beliefs, which include respecting full bodily autonomy and caring for other people – core beliefs of Unitarian Universalism, which she practices.
“The only decision that I could make, as a loving mother, was to focus on mothering this child that I brought into the world and terminating this new pregnancy,” Sanders said. “It was absolutely the right decision.”
‘Theocratic’ US abortion bans will violate religious liberty, faith leaders say
Posted from theguardian.com
Religion
Rights
Abortion
Medical
Health
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
Posted 1 d ago
The liberty to commit murder? And I am not anti abortion...I am for reasonable limits
Many religions advocate that it's the woman's right to her body - so if these Christian backed laws pass they are violating other people's religion. Or lack of religion...which violates the 1A.
Abortion isn't murder either. FFS they're not going to pick you. Ever.
Posted 1 d ago
The liberty to commit murder? And I am not anti abortion...I am for reasonable limits
Many religions advocate that it's the woman's right to her body - so if these Christian backed laws pass they are violating other people's religion. Or lack of religion...which violates the 1A.
Abortion isn't murder either. FFS they're not going to pick you. Ever.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."There is precedent for people with sincerely held religious beliefs fighting against criminal charges for actions that violate the law.
Scott Warren, a humanitarian aid worker for No More Deaths, successfully argued that his work helping migrants crossing the US-Mexico border was in line with his religious beliefs about helping others, and he was acquitted of federal charges in 2019.
Religious leaders or adherents may feel compelled by their beliefs to provide care, funds, transportation, housing or counseling around abortion, Franke said. “It’s not a stretch to see the work that they do in this area as part of a ministry.”
Sanders, who is now a minister, feels compelled by her beliefs to support access to reproductive healthcare, and she’s now preparing to offer support however she can. “I have a spare room, and I’m in the middle of sprucing it up right now with exactly that in mind.”
Sanders is particularly concerned about the ways restrictions on reproductive rights and trans rights are growing and intersecting. “It’s so terrifying,” she said. She believes it is “an egregious sin” to cause harm to someone by denying them healthcare or human rights.
“We, as Unitarian Universalists, believe fully that all human beings should have bodily autonomy, and anything that happens in or to my body should be my choice,” she said.
“To me, the law of the land and [religious] law are two separate and distinct things. It’s great when they overlap. And when they don’t, I’m going to choose morality over the law every time. And for me, that includes helping people in whatever way I can, for whatever reason they are seeking abortion.”
..."There is precedent for people with sincerely held religious beliefs fighting against criminal charges for actions that violate the law.
Scott Warren, a humanitarian aid worker for No More Deaths, successfully argued that his work helping migrants crossing the US-Mexico border was in line with his religious beliefs about helping others, and he was acquitted of federal charges in 2019.
Religious leaders or adherents may feel compelled by their beliefs to provide care, funds, transportation, housing or counseling around abortion, Franke said. “It’s not a stretch to see the work that they do in this area as part of a ministry.”
Sanders, who is now a minister, feels compelled by her beliefs to support access to reproductive healthcare, and she’s now preparing to offer support however she can. “I have a spare room, and I’m in the middle of sprucing it up right now with exactly that in mind.”
Sanders is particularly concerned about the ways restrictions on reproductive rights and trans rights are growing and intersecting. “It’s so terrifying,” she said. She believes it is “an egregious sin” to cause harm to someone by denying them healthcare or human rights.
“We, as Unitarian Universalists, believe fully that all human beings should have bodily autonomy, and anything that happens in or to my body should be my choice,” she said.
“To me, the law of the land and [religious] law are two separate and distinct things. It’s great when they overlap. And when they don’t, I’m going to choose morality over the law every time. And for me, that includes helping people in whatever way I can, for whatever reason they are seeking abortion.”
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
SGT (Join to see) On Some Levels Little Difference between US College of Cardinal Catholics, Evangelicals and Taliban.
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The liberty to commit murder? And I am not anti abortion...I am for reasonable limits
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