July 30, 2006

Religion Is Changing the Terms of the Abortion Debate--For the Better

The July 30 Boston Globe reports on the growing influence of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice in the policy and political arenas. The article is titled "Pious and Pro- choice," but the subtitle is more to the point: "The abortion rights movement rediscovers religion."

Journalist Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow reports that the debate about abortion is changing, and for the better. The religious pro-choice movement's "emphasis on conscience and morality has begun to seep into the traditional abortion-rights movement, and their increasingly active role has the potential to change the terms of the abortion debate- -for both sides."

In short, the religious pro- choice perspective grounds its understanding of abortion in the Bible, is frank about acknowledging the moral complexity of abortion, and stresses education and prevention.

In the antiabortion view, life begins at conception. Abortion opponents cite passages such as Jeremiah 1:5: ``Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you." Yet the religious pro-choice movement points out that the Bible distinguishes between a person and a fetus. Exodus 21:22-25, for instance, stipulates the punishment for accidental harm done to a pregnant woman. If she miscarries as a result, a fine is owed to her husband. If she herself suffers injury or death, however, ``the penalty shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth."

RCRC does not present these biblical readings to promote abortion, but to affirm that it is an option, says Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, president of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The movement works toward what it calls true ``reproductive choice," envisioning a society in which education and contraception prevent unintended pregnancies, and widely available healthcare and child care foster conditions supportive of childbearing. The religious right has largely neglected these goals in favor of pressing the fight against abortion. ``If you say you don't want to see abortions, let's try to prevent them," says Reverend Veazey.

To read the article at

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/07/30/pious_and_prochoice

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