Commentary: An Abortion Case from a Priest

Its members and leaders are black churches They offer many good reasons for their support of a potential candidate’s candidacy and platform Kamala Harris-Tim Walz administrationWe really should say more about why reproductive autonomy is one of the best reasons to support the Democratic presidential candidacy. My goal is to make the case that, from my perspective as a pastor providing pastoral care, there are moral reasons for adopting this. abortion care As part of comprehensive health care, just as Harris and Walz encourage us to do.

One of the truly humbling aspects of pastoral ministry is the invitation to bear witness to the lives of congregants in their most vulnerable moments. In joy and especially in pain, the spiritual flock looks to their pastor to pray, to listen, sometimes to give advice, but most of all to just be there and witness. Often there is nothing we can do to fix the situation or make it even better, but our members still want us to know what they are going through.

And because I am a pastor and have witnessed the complexities and struggles of my congregants’ lives, I am firmly and unequivocally in favor of reproductive autonomy and opposed to government intrusion and intrusion into the reproductive decisions that individuals and families make.

From birth control to reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization and abortion, the reasons people make decisions about reproductive health are as diverse as people. Politicians have shown that they do not have the knowledge and sophistication to legislate for everyone on these issues. Sometimes, in the midst of debate, it becomes clear that they lack an understanding of basic biological functions. But even at their best, they fail to encompass the breadth and depth of the physiological, social, emotional, and spiritual complexities in the lives of their constituents. If they left medical decisions to patients and their doctors, we would be a fairer and more moral nation.

In a country struggling with problems maternal death This problem, which is higher than in most of the developed world, is even more pronounced for Black women; The Black community and the Black church have an obligation to defend women’s rights to make their own medical decisions. behind the dobbs decisionResearchers observe that communities that already suffer from poverty and inadequate medical care will also suffer disproportionate harms, such as pregnancy complications and maternal death. To put it bluntly, more Black women will die because of this dobbs.

Pregnancy, the biological process by which human reproduction occurs, always requires physical sacrifice and carries the possibility of death. More things can go wrong than can be listed in one short article. But let me offer a few that I have observed during my pastoral ministry.

Consider a woman in her 30s who was in good health before becoming pregnant but is experiencing the onset of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). Some people euphemistically define HG as: extreme morning sicknessHowever, this explanation is not enough to tell the story of what happens to women with this disease or the danger it poses. The young woman in my congregation could not hold down food or liquid. During the first three months of her pregnancy, she was hospitalized five times and came close to death many times. None of the treatments worked. Some decisions had to be made.

Fortunately, my congregation lives in a state with no abortion restrictions. He and his family were able to make decisions without the added burden of negotiating with the state. Had she lived in Texas or another state where abortion is restricted, she would have had to deal with the trauma she faced physically and emotionally, as well as the legal burden of convincing the state that she was close enough to death. a termination. While he needed a doctor, he would need to hire a lawyer.

In another case, a young woman discovered she had a tumor early in her second trimester. Because of the type of tumor his doctors suspected, the medical examination would require the injection of a chemical that could be fatal to the fetus. Although it was possible that her tumor was a different type, she was encouraged to decide quickly what tests she wanted because if an abortion was necessary, it would have to happen before the Pennsylvania state deadline. In this example, the state’s rule created pressure to end more quickly, whenever that might happen. he What was needed was more information.

Every pastor I know has witnessed countless examples of human complexity in the area of ​​reproduction. A minor who is impregnated through acts of abuse or incest. Ectopic pregnancy that must be terminated to save life and fertility. Advanced pregnancy that proves unviable and requires abortion to save the mother from sepsis. Miscarriage requiring D&C to remove remaining fetal material. In states where abortion is limited, the medical care girls and women need is jeopardized. And the Trump-Vance administration will only make things worse.

Trump’s first presidency yielded results dobbs decision. While Trump lied and concealed his intentions for a second presidency, his selection of JD Vance tells the real story. Vance is determined to make abortion illegal without exception, even to save the life of the mother, even if he acts cruelly. mocks and ridicules childless women. By contrast, the Harris-Walz administration promises to put medical decisions back where they belong: between patient and doctor.

As pastors and religious leaders, we cannot physically fix the ills of our congregation, but we can advocate for them politically so that the weight of their decision-making in the midst of complex and unique circumstances is not further aggravated by laws that limit their actions. or those who tie their doctors’ hands.

The Rev. Leslie D. Callahan, Ph.D., is at St. Paul’s Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he has served for the past 15 years. He is the senior pastor of St. Paul’s Baptist Church.