Jul 8 Jul 8 "I believe that providing reproductive healthcare is moral, because it benefits those who have made the decision to want the service." Spreading Love Christianity, Kenya “We had so many patients who needed abortions, and some of them ended up with severe complications. Others died. That compelled me to look more deeply at the science behind abortion. Medical science is different from faith. Faith is about believing; there is no evidence in faith. Sometimes, medicine and faith clash but, if you’ve chosen to be a medical person, you have to accept the scientific evidence. You have to live by these ethics. It may come down to choosing between saving a life and sticking to your faith. As a health provider, I always choose to provide a service to save a life, because even that is godly.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "Because it respects the inherent worth and dignity of women, providing abortion is a spiritual and moral act." Spreading Love Unitarian Universalist, United States “One of my first abortion patients worked for the local Catholic diocese. As I performed her procedure, she told me that she opposed abortion. I was struck by how she felt compelled to share her objection to abortion while she herself was undergoing an abortion. Over the years, I’ve learned that this is a common experience among women who identify with a religion or belief system that morally objects to abortion. Religious and moral conflicts often lead women to feel worse about terminating a pregnancy. Their religious community does not offer spiritual support. A component of their life that has always provided comfort is no longer there for them. Shouldn’t your religious faith provide you solace during a difficult time? Why does your religion instead make you feel frightened and uncomfortable about your life decisions?” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "It just wasn’t right—this young woman shouldn’t have died from a botched abortion." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “As a medical student at Mount Sinai, I made several mission trips to Sierra Leone and Ghana. The first time I traveled to Ghana, I saw a patient who had performed an abortion on herself. This was 1985. The young woman developed clostridium; she had lockjaw. She was dying. There were no medicines or vaccines there to treat her. This was not the way anybody’s life should end. I already knew that I wanted to work in gynecology and obstetrics, but from that point on, my advocacy for women’s healthcare really solidified.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "People who have abortions do not need to apologize or beg for forgiveness, they have done nothing wrong." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “What is wrong is the wholesale condemnation of people who choose not to remain pregnant, and the undeniable effects of the Church’s interference with abortion access. If Pope Francis were serious about taking the Church in a more progressive, merciful direction, he would stop fanning the flames of abortion stigma and focus instead on protecting women’s health and well-being. He could, for starters, denounce unsafe abortion—for example, when women do not have access to legal abortion care, they may attempt to self-induce or seek out clandestine abortion—which is responsible for 47,000 deaths annually. That would truly be ‘pro-life.’ “ Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "If someone feels like ending their pregnancy is what they need to do, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to, and no reason why God would look down on them for it." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “It wasn’t until I got to college that I really started talking to people with various points of view. When I learned is that abortion is not an act of murder that goes against God’s will, but a medical procedure that every person should have a right to, my mindset completely changed. Abortion isn’t this inhumane act that deserves the stigma it has; it’s a health-care service that allows people to live the life they’d like to live.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "When bodily autonomy is taken away, to me, that is against Christian scripture, and is against the Gospel I believe in.” Spreading Love Christianity, United States “I believe reproductive rights and bodily autonomy are deeply important. I believe that is faithfulness to Christianity. I believe in access to safe and legal abortions. I believe that the person who can best make these decisions is the person who’s considering these decisions. I have known people who have accessed abortion and reproductive care. Some haven’t had any emotional turmoil over it. And I know people who saw it as a hard decision. I believe every person I encounter, including myself, has the right to their body.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "We don't need forgiveness for our abortions." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “Though the media may portray Pope Francis as a gentler patriarch, his language reinforces the stigmatizing stereotype that all women who have abortions are deeply scarred, spiritually damaged, and wallowing in our existential grief. “The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails," the pontiff wrote. I could tell Francis many things to disprove his belief: That I weighed the moral consequences. That I thought about whether or not my fetus had a soul. That I prayed to the Blessed Mother. That I still made an appointment with Planned Parenthood. That if only he asked us Catholic girls first, some of us would have told him we don't need forgiveness. “ Read more.
Feb 28 Feb 28 Gallery of Faith Resources Spreading Love Click here to open this gallery of organizations, then click the images to visit each resource.
