abortion rights and its intersections with religion
- Advait Singh
- Aug 5, 2024
- 4 min read
Religion is an aspect of life that is near and dear to many. Each religion has its own beliefs, opinions, and “rules” on various matters including but not limited to ‘forbidden’ foods, clothing styles, values, and more. However, one topic of conversation that can be especially controversial and critiqued when intersecting with religion is the topic of reproductive rights.
The right to reproductive choice as defined by un.org is “women have a right to choose whether or not to reproduce, including the right to decide whether to carry or terminate an unwanted pregnancy and the right to choose their preferred method of family planning and contraception.” The main aspect of reproductive rights that tends to spark controversy is “the right to decide whether to carry or terminate an unwanted pregnancy,” or more commonly dubbed as the right to abortion.
But why is it that the topic of abortion is so ‘controversial’ in the context of religion? Well, the main issue is how morally acceptable the act of abortion is. The reason behind questioning morals comes from the debate on when life begins. “Does life begin at conception or birth?” is the question many are trying to answer regarding this topic.
Linking this topic of when life begins to religion, many people who oppose abortion rights do so because of religious reasons. However, it is unclear how much of this stems from religious belief and how much of it comes from personal opinion. Hence, this article seeks to explore and understand the connection or intersection between the right to an abortion and religion.
When looking at the situation in the US, in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade which resulted in the right to abortion becoming illegal, many have fought for and against this decision through a religious lens. The US is a diverse place for people of different religions and cultural backgrounds. American Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jewish Americans majorly believe that abortion rights should be a legal right in most or all cases. However, it is the Evangelical Christians who disagree with this notion and instead believe that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
Specifically in the case of Jewish Americans, those who fall under this section of the community strongly believe that abortion rights should be legal and hence find themselves at odds with the current circumstances. The Jewish law, Halakha, while valuing all life belives that life or “personhood” begins at birth. Hence, ideas and laws which imply that life begins at conception go against the teachings of the Halakha. The Halakha additionally requires protecting the people from assailants, which has hence been interpreted as in the case where the mother’s life is threatened by pregnancy, an abortion becomes a religious commandment.
There are also many religious groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention who while not supporting the idea of abortion, believe that there should still be the freedom to choose as they believe women deserve access to all medical services to maintain and protect their life and health.
While many argue that the ban on abortion is a method of establishing religion, it is necessary that they show how these laws go against certain religious teachinsg but also prove that they lack non-religious purpose. In January of 2023, a number of religious leaders from different faiths filed a case in Missouri in which they listed multiple comments made by state lawmakers which support the anti-abortion laws. This was also done with the intention of proving that the law aims to establish specific relgiious beliefs. An example includes when Representative Nick Schroer who is a Catholic, said that he belives the idea that life begins at conception which is an aspect which influenced the state’s legislative decisions.
A similar case occured in Florida as a case was filed in August of 2022 by Jewish, Buddhist, and Protestant leaders where they argues that the state’s 2022 abortion ban mirrored one religious viewpoint and creates a burden on others. It was also added that this would then violate the First Amendement’s free excercise of religion clause.
Another lawsuit which was filed in October of 2022 further highlights the implications of anti-abortion laws on religious individuals. The lawsuit, fled by three Jewish women from Kentucky, detials how each of these women want to have children in order to follow their religion’s command of being “fruitful and multiply”. However, these women experience reproductive difficultes and therefore rely on technology which often involves needing to discard of embryos. The restrictions in the state hence threaten their religious goal of being able to have children.
One of the women is of “advanced maternal age” and of Ashkenazi dscent which gives her a higher risk of passing genetic disorders such as Tay-Sachs disease. She argues that the Kentucky reproductive laws prevent her from having more children because she no longer has the ability to terminae a pregnancy if the fetus were to have health issues.
A lawsuit in Missouri additionally involces various Christian denominations who argue that their faith values the individuals right to choose but the state’s abortion bans infringe on their religious rights. Rev. Blackmon who is the lead plaintiff and a United Church of Christ minister belives that “God gives peiple the autonomy to make complex decisions about their bodies”. She also belives that aborion bans prevent religious leaders from counseling their congregants on reproductive health, which again is a violation of the First amendment, specifically the protection of religious speech. This case reflects the 1960s and 1970s work done by the Clergy Consultation Servic in which religious leaders helped women who wanted abortions by claiming it was their “pastoral duty”.
As discussed in this article, religion deeply intersetcs with beliefs in religion hence creating a number of diverse opinions on the topic of reproductive rights. However, what can be concluded from this article while each religion has their own understanding and beliefs on when life begins and the morality of abortion, abortion should as a whole be legalized to allow women to have access to all medical services, regarldess of thier religious beliefs, and to help ensure the longevity and healthiness of the mother’s life.
by aditi jomen bhardwaj
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