National Faith Leader on Leaked Roe Opinion: People of Faith Must Answer Call to Justice in Moment of Moral Crisis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT
Austin Schuler, aschuler@faithinpubliclife.org |
National Faith Leader on Leaked Roe Opinion:
People of Faith Must Answer Call to Justice in Moment of Moral Crisis
“People of faith and our elected leaders must answer the call of justice at this moment of moral crisis. Lives and hard-won freedoms hang in the balance as the far right’s decades-long campaign to ban all abortions comes close to reality.”
Washington, DC – A draft of a Supreme Court opinion in the Jackson vs Dobbs case written by Justice Samuel Alito became public last night, although the Court has issued a statement that it is not the final decision in the case. Faith in Public Life issued the following statement from its CEO, Rev. Jennifer Butler:
Rev. Jennifer Butler, CEO of Faith in Public Life
“Today, people of faith across America are scared, confused and outraged. Our faith teaches us that we have the moral agency to chart the course of our lives. That means we must all be free to make the decisions that impact our health, families and futures. Yet with this extremist opinion as written, the reality is millions of people would no longer be able to do so.
“The vast majority of people of faith support access to abortion care. We believe that decisions about starting or growing a family are personal, moral, nuanced and should not be subject to the approval of any court or politician. And whatever our perspective on abortion care, we can all agree that respect for the pregnant person’s moral autonomy must guide our policies about abortion care and that no one should be criminalized for seeking the care they need.
“Yet this immoral draft opinion does no such thing. As written it is an outrageous violation of the dignity of all people and an attack on the fundamental freedoms the Court has a duty to uphold. If enacted, politicians in dozens of states will outlaw abortion care altogether, placing countless lives in jeopardy and most severely harming people already pushed to the margins — Black, Brown, Native, immigrant and LGBTQ communities.
“Abortion care is still legal today and must remain so — and it must be accessible to all, without barriers. People of faith and our elected leaders must answer the call of justice at this moment of moral crisis. Lives and hard-won freedoms hang in the balance as the far right’s decades-long campaign to ban all abortions comes close to reality.”
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Faith in Public Life is a national movement of clergy and faith leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice, equality and the common good. Together, with a network of over 50,000 leaders, they are leading the fight to advance just policies at the state and federal level that affirm our values and the human dignity of all.