Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Caryn Riswold

Home
Progressive Christian
SCOTUS Ruling on Care & Compassion for All Women

SCOTUS Ruling on Care & Compassion for All Women

Last updated on: June 27, 2016 at 11:21 am by Caryn Riswold

SCOTUS Ruling on Care & Compassion for All Women 2016-06-27T11:21:28-06:00 Caryn Riswold

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A few months ago, I got an email from a reader who said she grew up conservative Christian, though now considered herself progressive and a feminist. The abortion issue still vexed her. She asked me this:

Q: I have been having a cognitive issue with abortion rights. I am fervently pro-women and consider myself a feminist, but something about it isn’t sitting right. I agree that women should have control of their bodies, but I guess I’m having an issue with when and/or whether a fetus becomes/is a person. At some point, does abortion become an ethical issue?

My response to her included this:

A: My take on the matter is that yes, abortion is an ethical issue. And, it is clear to me that a woman has the right and responsibility to make the decision that is best for her and her family, in consultation with her doctor, partner, and faith leader if she has one. I see no reason not to trust women to make decisions that are best for their health and well-being, and that of their families. To me, attempts by the state to infringe on women’s ability to make ethical decisions are what too quickly become unethical. To assume that they cannot or will not make good decisions is fraught with sexism.

And so I celebrate today as the Supreme Court overturns Texas’ attempts to restrict women’s access to healthcare in a 5-3 decision. The majority opinion in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt contains a clear indication that states may not unduly infringe on women’s access by passing laws that only target abortion providers, and that laws like HB2 in Texas presented a substantial obstacle and undue burden on women. (Check out the documentary TRAPPED, airing on PBS Independent Lens, to learn the story of these laws, Whole Woman’s Health, and the brave women and men who made today’s decision possible.) In short, they threaten women’s health and replace her ethical decision-making process with their own. Nothing other than sexism and misogynistic mistrust of women explains them.

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority, which found Texas’ recent attempts to regulate clinics to be unconstitutional:

“We conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes. Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, Casey, supra, at 878 (plurality opinion), and each violates the Federal Constitution.”

The opinion reveals that in no way were the Texas regulations actually protecting women’s health:

“We have found nothing in Texas’ record evidence that shows that […] the new law advanced Texas’ legitimate interest in protecting women’s health. We add that, when directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case. … At the same time, the record evidence indicates that the […] requirement places a ‘substantial obstacle in the path of a woman’s choice.’”

The Court also found that the Texas laws themselves led to lower quality of healthcare for women:

“More fundamentally, in the face of no threat to women’s health, Texas seeks to force women to travel long distances to get abortions in crammed-to-capacity superfacilities. Patients seeking these services are less likely to get the kind of individualized attention, serious conversation, and emotional support that doctors at less taxed facilities may have offered.”

Dr. Willie Parker, featured in TRAPPED and current chair of the Physicians for Reproductive Health Board, issued a statement that says in part:

“Politicians can no longer use ideologically driven laws with no medical basis to threaten women’s health by restricting access to safe, legal abortion care. … This ruling affirms that a woman’s right to dignified and compassionate abortion care should not depend on where she lives or on the interference of politicians. Every woman should be free to make medical decisions based on her doctor’s advice and what is right for herself and her family.”

An organization that is committed to advancing a pro-faith, pro-choice position that vexed my reader mentioned at the beginning of this post, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said:

“We are very pleased with today’s decision. It is a vitally important judicial affirmation of a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices and to access abortion care. [This is because] At RCRC, we believe the decision to become a parent or become a parent again, when and under what circumstances are deeply personal decisions best left to a woman to discern for herself, in consultation with her family, her faith and others she might bring into the conversation.”

As I have said and written in the past: Trust Women. God Does.

And Planned Parenthood Would Serve Mary (yes, THAT Mary).

Yes, reader. Abortion is an ethical issue. And today, the Supreme Court has ruled that there are limits to what obstacles the state can put in a woman’s way as she seeks healthcare and makes the best decision for herself and her family.

Supreme Court image via wikimedia commons.

whole woman's health v. Hellerstedt

Previous Post

June 20, 2016

Trump. Women Know “That Guy”

Next Post

July 1, 2016 #JesseWilliamsSyllabus

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion At the Intersections Atheism Christianity Contraception Education Feminism Gender Getting Theological Honorable Mention Islam LGBT News Our Voices Race Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which letter addresses the "fruit of the Spirit"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Galatians Colossians Romans Hebrews