New Texas abortion law could keep pastors, churches from counseling women in need

American women have fought for agency over our own bodies throughout history. For more than a few decades in Texas, that fight has not been easy.

Restrictions enacted by political leaders aside, just having a coherent and productive conversation on reproductive health and abortion has become next to impossible. That absence of a healthy dialogue has brought us some of the most restrictive and offensive laws on reproductive health in our history.

One of them, SB 8, took effect Wednesday. The new law outlaws abortion before most women know they’re pregnant, and place a $10,000 bounty on anyone who aids them. The number of freedoms this bill threatens — from bodily autonomy to the right to have a God’s-honest conversation about abortion — should scare every single person.

As a clergy member who took a vow to listen and guide people on their spiritual and personal journeys, trust me when I tell you this law may even jeopardize the powerful and emotional conversations that take place between clergy members and their parishioners every single day.

I know the profound emotional work that the decision to get an abortion requires of women. I know because I’ve had two abortions myself.

I was 14 years old when I had my first abortion. I decided to do it so I could prioritize graduating high school, not starting a family before I was ready. Four years later, when I got pregnant again — this time while on birth control — I made the same deeply personal decision not to bring my pregnancy to term.

Those experiences showed me the strength I have to do what’s best for me, but they also showed me the strength of the people who spoke with me about my decision, offered a listening ear and ultimately performed my abortions.

I can attest to the need for raw conversations about abortion within faith communities. I began volunteering to escort women into abortion clinics, an experience where I was often met with intense hatred and even physical assault. While seven months pregnant with my daughter, I was spat on by an incensed protester as I walked a woman into a clinic in Berkeley, California.

Those experiences, good and bad, led me to attend ministerial school so that I could be an authentic and honest guide to others.

In Texas and around the country, there weren’t many clergy members available to guide women through open-minded conversations on reproductive health. I knew that it was critical for people to hear a Black, LGBTQ+ woman speak with frankness and humility about abortion — to hear from someone who’s stood in their shoes.

As our leaders continue to pass law after law to restrict access to abortion, it’s a moral imperative for communities of faith to show solidarity and honestly have open conversations. That’s why I’m proud of my role in helping the Texas Freedom Network’s project Just Texas launch Reproductive Freedom Congregations, or RFCs — a faith initiative for places of worship that are working to advance a dialogue on abortion and reproductive health.

Legislation like SB 8 is the product of decades of stigmatized dialogue and shame, stigma that will require courageous conversations to tear through. Just Texas works with congregations to receive the designation of being a “RFC” to prove that there are congregations that believe the decision to abort should be free of stigma, shame or judgment.

Often, churches, synagogues and other places of worship come to us ready to learn and grow for the better. People don’t want to see such a deeply personal topic relegated to the background, especially within their place of worship.

Still, serious cultural change requires a deep level of individual introspection. RFCs educate and empower entire congregations to feel comfortable having judgement-free discussions. We provide workshops in which communities can embrace their own stories and the history of reproductive justice.

Congregations are proud to join this designation, not necessarily because everyone is an ardent supporter of abortion rights, but because we all appreciate the value of discussion, acceptance and women’s divine right to choose their own destiny.

One of the deepest and most personal connections many of us have in our lives is to our faith. No matter the god we worship or the place we do it, people from all walks of life can appreciate the power of opening our heart to a higher power, our minds to our fellow worshippers and our eyes to a better future.

In that future, to abortion and reproductive health services will be seen as what it truly is: a moral and social good.

This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 6:04 AM.