Eager to promote the view that abortion rights advocacy and religious faith go hand-in-hand, the policy director of a pro-abortion religious coalition addressed a group of secular abortion activists last week. Speaking at a lunch held at the Washington, D.C. offices of Planned Parenthood Federation of the Americas, the Rev. Dr. Susan Newman described the work of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) in training clergy to provide abortion counseling and referrals.
“I believe get them early,” Newman said in describing RCRC’s pro-abortion outreach to students preparing for ministry. Newman explained that it was important for pro-abortion activists to reach seminarians when their theological profile was building and when beliefs were still being shaped. The United Church of Christ minister said it was key “at the seminary level to be exposed to the issue of reproductive justice and how this is an issue of faith and an issue of righteousness.”
RCRC is an interfaith organization that counts over 40 different religious organizations as members. Denominational boards of several mainline churches affiliate themselves with the coalition, including the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) of the United Methodist Church, the Women’s Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) and boards in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ. Through an action of its Executive Committee, the entire Episcopal Church affiliates itself with RCRC (although some dioceses have passed resolutions distancing themselves from the group). Jewish and Unitarian Universalist groups also prominently feature in RCRC’s membership, as do unofficial caucus groups in the Catholic and Lutheran churches.
The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) has been a critic of RCRC, saying that it exists solely to provide a religious veneer over pro-abortion advocacy. According to the study “Holy Abortion? A Theological Critique of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice” RCRC receives little funding from its member organizations, relying upon secular foundations such as George Soros’ Open Society Institute and the Playboy Foundation for almost all of its financial support.
Recently, RCRC has engaged U.S. lawmakers in opposition to an amendment restricting federal funds from subsidizing abortion coverage in health care reform legislation.
Newman, who has served as Acting Director of Public Policy for RCRC since October, has consulted for the organization for the past 12 years as part of its National Black Church Initiative. Named one of the top black women preachers in America by Ebony Magazine, the adjunct minister at People’s United Church of Church in Washington, D.C. has worked with the National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality at Howard University.
Newman began her presentation by screening a short film, The Faithful Struggle for Reproductive Justice. The film documented the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, a network of pastors that covertly referred pregnant women to abortionists when the practices of both abortion and counseling a woman about abortion were illegal or heavily restricted.
“When people are in a crisis with an unintended pregnancy, usually one of the first three people they think of is their spiritual person, their pastor, minister, imam, priest,” Newman said. “They want to turn to a person they trust.”
“We have a network of interfaith clergy around the country who we do various things with,” the abortion rights activist explained. Newman cited healthcare reform lobbying efforts with elected officials as one of the interfaith clergy activities. One-on-one activities are also part of RCRC’s work.
“One of the things that we do that is very key is ‘all-options counseling,’ and we also have clergy that we train to do that,” said Newman. She described the program as not only offering counseling for those considering abortion, but also for those facing a sense of grief or loss after an abortion. Newman did not posit an explanation about why a woman might feel a sense of loss.
In explaining her efforts at RCRC, Newman cited scripture, quoting Micah 6:8, “…what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
“People cannot [say] that if someone is having a problem, it does not concern me,” Newman said. She quoted African-American poet Gwendolyn Brooks: “We are each other’s business; we are each other’s bond.”
During her presentation, Newman also referred to her colleague Emily Goodstein, who introduced RCRC’s young adult program, Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (SYRF).
“The SYRF program engages folks ages 16 to 30 in the larger work the religious coalition does,” Goodstein explained to the audience of primarily middle aged and elderly women. SYRF makes grants available for people who are interested in organizing on college campuses or in religious communities that are primarily young adult, according to Goodstein.
“As long as those events have some sort of faith-positive component and they are about reproductive justice in a pro-choice capacity, we’re happy to support those financially,” Goodstein said. “We also do a lot of work on college campuses; we have a cohort of 20-25 organizers every semester.”
Some abortion rights proponents have noted with concern the aging of activists, leading to more youth-targeted efforts.
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