Common Questions

What are the basic principles guiding the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice?
What does my religion say about reproductive choice?
Why is reproductive choice a moral issue?
What does reproductive choice have to do with religious freedom?

What are the basic principles guiding the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice?

As people of faith, we

• seek a society that values human life and human dignity and honors individual conscience.

• respect the value of potential human life while remaining firmly committed to women as responsible, moral decision-makers.

• believe the ability to make moral decisions—including about reproductive issues—is the very basis of an individual's dignity.

• seek to correct the conditions that underlie the high rate of unintended pregnancy and abortion, through responsible sexuality education, affordable family planning services, and high-quality, accessible medical care.

• will continue to protect the right of individuals to follow their own religious views in reproductive decisions and decisions about family formation.

• strive to make justice a reality by furthering the medical, economic, and educational resources necessary for healthy children, families and communities:

Quality, affordable healthcare & insurance

Prenatal & postnatal care, with an emphasis on reducing infant mortality

Quality adoption & foster care services

Education & training for jobs & careers

Good jobs at a living wage

High quality childcare & preschool education

Proper nutrition

Safe, affordable housing

A clean environment

Freedom from violence

Policies that enhance family well-being & give priority to family relationships & needs

Respect in the community & nation for diversity of religious & cultural beliefs & practice

What does my religion say about reproductive choice?
For years, televangelists and political extremists have claimed all religions oppose reproductive choice. "Religious Right" political groups have been so vocal that it sometimes seems they've drowned out moderate and mainstream views such as ours.

The fact is that the vast majority of Americans of all faiths agree with Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice positions. Three-quarters of Americans agree that abortion is a personal decision for women, who are often guided by their religious beliefs and values. Seventy-eight percent reject government intrusion in decisions about bearing children. Large majorities want comprehensive sexuality education to be available in schools, comprehensive reproductive health services to be available in hospitals, and family planning services to be available to all, regardless of income.

As people of faith, we have a responsiblity to ensure that the dignity of women and their decisions regarding childbearing are respected. We hold human life to be sacred - and that includes the life of the woman as well as the potential child. It is because of this belief that many religious communities work for a world in which every child is wanted, loved and cared for and support birth control, family planning, safe and legal abortion, and health care for all.

To be clear: we are pro-choice, not pro-abortion. Being pro-choice means we honor all choices. It means we trust women and their families to decide whether and when to have children.

In a pluralistic society such as ours, government must not impose laws about childbearing based on any one belief about when personhood begins. Government does have an important role in safeguarding the constitutional right to choose, protecting clinics, and ensuring that abortion and family planning services are available to all without regard to income.

The Coalition members are national organizations from the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, Conservative and Reform Judaism, and many other traditions. While we are religiously and theologically diverse, we agree that reproductive choice is consistent with our faith and values.

To learn more, read excerpts from the official resolutions and statements of denominations with more than 20 million members. These resolutions express deep respect for the value of potential human life and equally deep respect for women's lives and for women as moral decision-makers.


Why is reproductive choice a moral issue?
Reproductive choice is often considered a legal and medical issue—what the law says and what doctors advise. But for most women and men, decisions about family—including decisions about when and whether to bear children—are mainly personal and involve their religious beliefs and values. As pro-choice people of faith, we believe that the ability to make moral decisions is the basis of an individual's dignity and autonomy. It is an expression of our God-given ability to exercise free will.

What does reproductive choice have to do with religious freedom?
Religions have a wide range of beliefs about abortion. Some oppose abortion in all cases because they believe human life begins when the egg and sperm meet. They hold this belief even though medical science defines pregnancy as beginning with the implantation of the fertilized egg. Other religions believe abortion must be allowed in cases of rape and incest. Most religions believe the decision must be a woman’s. Some religions believe abortion is required in certain circumstances such as when a woman’s life is in danger.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, had these wise words to say about abortion and religious beliefs: “… We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.”

“It should be sufficient to note briefly the wide divergence of thinking on this most sensitive and difficult question. There has always been strong support for the view that life does not begin until live birth. It appears to be the predominant, though not the unanimous, attitude of the Jewish faith. It may be taken to represent also the position of a large segment of the Protestant community, insofar as that can be ascertained; organized groups that have taken a formal position on the abortion issue have generally regarded abortion as a matter for the conscience of the individual and her family.”

The Coalition believes that reproductive freedom is an essential element of religious liberty, a founding principle of our nation. Because of the wide range of religious beliefs on this sensitive issue, we believe reproductive decisions must remain with the woman, to be made in keeping with her religious beliefs, values and conscience.


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