American believers are preparing – some rejoicing at the warning, others fearful – for the Supreme Court to possibly overturn a landmark in 1973 Capriolo v. Wade E’s decision to end the right to legal abortion nationwide.
It has never been possible to change the 49-year-old’s decision since. The draft conclusion Speculation that the court might do so leaked this week. Although religious believers who have fought abortion -related shocks for decades are violating Supreme Court protocol, they are still deeply divided and their beliefs on the controversial issue are not as they used to be. .
National polls show that most Americans support access to abortion. A poll by the Public Religion Research Institute in March found that most religious groups believe it should be legal in most cases, except for white evangelical Protestants, 69% of whom said the method should be banned in most cases. in part. or in all cases.
In conservative Christian corners, the draft conclusion brought hope. Religious groups that have historically stood up against abortion, including the United States Bishops ’Conference, have called on followers to pray for Roy’s return.
The Rev. Manuel Rodriguez, pastor of the 17,000-strong Catholic Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Queens, New York, said his majority in the Latin congregation is pleased with the prospect of Roy dying as courts in some Latin American countries . Colombia and Argentina To legalize abortion.
“You can’t correct one crime by committing another crime,” Rodriguez said.
Bishop Garland R. Hunt Senior, pastor of the House of Fathers, agrees with a nondenominational, mostly African-American church in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.
“It’s the result of constant and necessary prayer since 1973,” Hunt said. “As a Christian, I believe that God gives life, not politicians or the police. Of course, I want to see more babies protected in the womb. “
There is no belief in monolithic abortion. Yet many followers of the faith that does not prohibit abortion are outraged that the views of a minority of Americans may go beyond their individual rights and religious beliefs.
For example, many authorities in Judaism say that abortion is allowed or necessary in cases where a woman’s life is in danger.
“It’s a decision to ban abortion when our religion gives us the right,” said Rabbi Danie Ruttenberg, a scholar of the National Council of Jewish Women. . “
In Islam, too, there is space for “every aspect of reproductive choice, from family planning to abortion,” said Nadia Mohajir, co-founder of Heart Women and Girls, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works with Muslim community on reproductive rights and other gender issues. .
“A particular political agenda violates my rights and my religious and personal freedom,” he said.
According to new data released Wednesday by the Institute for Social Policy and Mutual Understanding, 56% of Muslims in the U.S. say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, a figure that is more or less consistent. to the beliefs of American Catholics.
Donna Nicolino, a student at Fire Lotus Temple, a Zen Buddhist center in Brooklyn, said her faith encourages followers to show compassion to others. Restricting or prohibiting abortion does not address why women are having abortions and are more vulnerable to the poor and marginalized, she said.
“If we really value life as a culture,” Nicholino said, “we will take steps like ensuring maternal health, protecting children’s health and providing decent housing for pregnant women.”
Sikhism prohibits sexually selective murder – the killing of young girls – but there are more nuances when it comes to abortion and it promotes compassion and personal choice, said Harinder Singh, a nonprofit researcher and senior nonprofit -based politician. in New Jersey. Wedding ring.
A 2019 survey conducted with researcher Jaslin Kaur found that 65% of Sikhs said abortion should be for women and not for the government or religious leaders, while 77% said that Sikh institutions should support those who consider abortion.
“It is very clear to the Sikh community that no religious or political authority should respond to this problem,” Singh said.
Compassion is a virtue also emphasized by some Christian leaders who urge their colleagues against abortion to lower the temperature when they talk about it.
Reverend Kirk Winslow, pastor of Canvas Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California, said he sees abortion through the human and spiritual eye and not as a political issue. Communities should make decisions like counseling centers, parenting courses, health care and education, he said, rather than “take part in a cultural war.”
She counseled women who are having difficulty having an abortion and stressed the importance of compassion.
“Faced with the pain, fear and confusion of a sudden pregnancy, no one said,‘ I’m excited about the abortion, ’” Winslow said. Position. I will simply answer that most are not yet in my office for these real and very difficult conversations.
Similarly, Caitlin Stanerson, pastor of the Evangelical Covenant Church and ministerial servant in the Minnesota Twin Cities district, urged religious leaders to “beware,” considering that the women who care for them are can be aborted for a series of reasons. And having difficulty with an injury.
“As a pastor, my job is not to collect shame from people, but to bring them to Jesus,” Stanerson said. “We are committed to telling the truth, but with love”.
Ahead of a final court decision expected to be announced this summer, religious leaders on both sides are preparing to make abortion illegal in many states.
The Rev. said. Sarah Halverson-Kano, pastor of Irvine United Congregational Church in Irvine, California, said her congregation is considering providing accommodation and other assistance to women who may travel to the state to complete a pregnancy. On Tuesday, the second day of the draft opinion leak, he led parishioners and community members in a rally on proper abortion in nearby Santa Ana.
“Our faith calls us to be accountable to those in need,” Halverson-Kano said. “It is time for women and families to come together and think about how to respond to this horrible injustice.
Nicholas Kohler, president of the Student Life Group at a private Catholic college in eastern Ohio at Stubbenville Franciscan University, said he and others regularly attend special mass prayers on Saturdays to end abortions. They then travel the state line to nearby Pittsburgh to hold prayers and distribute leaflets outside the abortion clinic.
Kohler said similar actions would be needed even if the draft conclusion became state law, because abortion is likely to remain legal in states like Pennsylvania.
“We will still pray outside the clinic,” he said.
Reported by Bharat from Los Angeles and Henao from New York. Associated Press writer Joanna Del Orto contributed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and Peter Smith in Pittsburgh.
Source: Huffpost
