Spring 2003
Clergy Voices: Volume 8, Issue 1
Psalm 139 — If I Make My Bed In Hell, Thou Art There
by The Reverend Emma Jordan-Simpson
At one point when I was interviewed by a committee of the board of directors for the position of executive director of Girls Inc. of New York City, one of the members turned to me and asked, "What is your position on abortion?" I knew that this question was going to come up because, to some people, being a member of the clergy and being pro-choice are thought to be mutually exclusive. People get really nervous when some of us clergy show up at the door, because quite often, along with our involvement comes hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness. And this is true not just because of the actions and rhetoric of the religious right — it's true because the rest of us have not lived up to our word. Too many of us are silent or absent in the daily fight for justice.
As a good Baptist, I naturally answered the question with a question — "Well, what do you mean?" She elaborated — "[I]f a young woman comes to you and says that she is pregnant, what will you do?" I answered, "I'll ask her what does she want to do, and then I will listen to her. And whatever she decides to do, I will walk with her in her choice."This is what women and girls need us to do. To listen to their voices and assure them that regardless of what they decide — we will not let them walk alone.
My mother — who did walk alone — shared with me faith in a God who she came to believe never let anyone walk alone.
Psalm 139 says,
Whither shall I go from your spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
These are emotionally charged and complex issues — ones that we so often oversimplify and reduce down to vitriolic and condemning rhetoric — rhetoric that leads to the dehumanization of us all and leaves too many women and girls to walk alone. Yes, I stand as a person of faith — and my faith is founded on the belief that people should not walk alone, especially people in need and crisis. That is also why I believe this issue matters to God, because I have experienced a God who has never let me walk alone. Through every trial, tribulation — when I found my bed in Hell, I found God there, too.
But these issues are not just about my faith — choice is not just about what your religion says, either... Choice has to matter to people of conscious (maybe it doesn't matter to people of no conscious), but to those of us with a conscious, tell me what other decisions are you willing to let somebody else make for you? Today, it's the rights of women and girls to make decisions about their bodies, to determine their own futures, to exercise the right to make decisions that you may not agree with. Tomorrow, it becomes your right to make a decision about anything. Protecting our freedom of conscience is the thing that is at stake here for people of conscious. Not only do we not need laws to tell us when to pray, and how to pray, and whom to love, and whom not to love — but we cannot allow the establishment of laws that would tell us what we can or cannot do with our own bodies. I understand this threat against a right to a choice as a means of reinforcing the status quo, and maintaining power — a situation that has never favored people of color or women — ever! This is especially important in places where the "tellers" are overwhelmingly white men of means, and the "tellees" are poor women, and overwhelmingly women of color.
This matters to women and girls right now in New York City. Pregnancy rates in the city have declined, but they are still too high. At the same time, young people are denied the comprehensive sexuality and health education that would help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections and prevent young girls from becoming pregnant before they are ready to become parents. These girls are babies themselves — young people who walk alone in "ignorance" now because of our inability to commit to quality sexuality education.
They should not have to walk alone — will not have to walk alone when you put your hands back on the plough and fight on.
[K]eep deep in your mind that being put in the position of having to make this choice — no matter what anyone says — is not an easy one. Don't believe the hype — it ain't easy. So don't wait until girls get to this point to walk with them, and certainly, don't abandon them if they do.
In the name of those who fought long before I was born to overcome and bring to public consciousness the injustices and disparities that are so real in the lives of women, I will ask my sister and my daughter — your sister and your daughter, too — what does she want to do, and I will walk with her in her choice — and fight for her right to make it.
What are you going to do?
Rev. Jordan-Simpson, who is also a member of the Pastoral Team, Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Brooklyn, NY, delivered these remarks in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (see p. 4.). Those who oppose a woman's right to choose often cite Psalm 139, as proof of the personhood of the fetus because of a reference to God having "wove me in my mother's womb." Rev. Jordan-Simpson begs to differ. "I have taken it back," she says. "It is mine!" Her remarks were edited and excerpts from Marge Piercy's poem, Right to Life, recited just before the end of her remarks, were omitted for reasons of space.
Bush Administration Alchemy Would Turn A Fetus Into A Child
By Rabbi Balfour Brickner
In March 2002, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new rules to permit states to make a fetus eligible for government-subsidized health care under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by defining a child as "an individual under the age of 19, including the period from conception to birth."
In an act of political alchemy, this program would turn a fetus into a child and a woman into a vessel. Under HHS SCHIP regulations, these vessels, who are poor, but not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, are entitled only to those services that directly affect the fetus. They are not eligible for any other prenatal care, or for postpartum care of any kind.
The SCHIP regulations demonstrate that the Bush administration has a cynical disregard for the health and well-being of women and, rather, is intent on laying the groundwork for overturning Roe v. Wade. As a New York Times editorial on January 12, 2003, pointed out, these SCHIP regulations and other attempts to elevate the status of a fetus constitute one of the many battlefields in "[t]he [w]ar [a]gainst [w]omen." For more detail visit George W. Bush's War on Women: A Pernicious Web.
Each of the actions to make the fetus equivalent to a living, breathing human being is clearly unbiblical, un-Jewish, and if Christianity claims to be based on Biblical tradition, un-Christian. What makes all of these actions even harder to understand is that they emanate from an administration whose leaders make a fetish out of their devotion to "Christian religious values." Instead, they have demonstrated their ignorance or their willingness to ignore religious law.
The Hebrew Bible deals explicitly with the subject: "If men strive, and wound a pregnant woman so that her fruit be expelled, but no harm befalls her, then shall he be fined as her husband shall assess, and the matter placed before the judges. ... " (Exodus: 21.22).The meaning of this text is straightforward. Only monetary compensation is exacted from whoever causes a woman to miscarry. Since the unborn fetus is not considered a person, the one responsible cannot be held liable for the taking of human life and certainly not for murder.
Jewish Biblical commentators examined the ramifications of this text and in every instance based their rulings on their conviction that the fetus is not a child. In rabbinic terms, "it is not a living soul." One example of this thinking will suffice. It is drawn from the Mishnah, Judaism's earliest post-biblical authoritative interpretation of scripture. "A woman who is having difficulty giving birth is permitted to cut up the fetus inside her womb and take it out limb by limb because her life takes precedence. ..." (Mishnah Ohalot: 7.6)
In addition to this religious precedent, there are other compelling reasons why religious people need to protest the Bush administration's war against women. As members of the pro-choice community, we are dedicated to preserving the right of a woman to determine when and whether to become a parent. Moreover, we cannot permit policies that threaten Roe v. Wade and the whole panoply of reproductive rights to masquerade as "concern for children," when they are, in fact, designed only to carry out the anti-choice, anti-woman agenda of the religious right.
Hypocrisy, thy name is politics!
Rabbi Brickner is senior rabbi emeritus, The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, New York, NY, and a member of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board.
Clergy Help Commemorate The 30th Anniversary Of Roe V. Wade
Members of the clergy participated in nearly 30 affiliate events commemorating the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. These included prayer breakfasts, interfaith services, vigils, and events hosted at religious institutions. A selection of these events follows.
New York, NY
Rev. Peter Laarman, Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) board member and chair of the PPNYC Clergy Advisory Committee, hosted an event sponsored by PPFA and PPNYC, together with Judson Memorial Church, where Rev. Laarman is senior pastor. More than 200 people attended.
Judson, the birthplace of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion (CCSA), was the perfect setting for the program, which began with a video salute to the members of the CCSA. Rev. Thomas R. Davis, PPFA Clergy Advisory Board chair and a CCSA member himself, introduced the video. The more than 2,000 clergy and lay religious leaders who participated in the CCSA between 1967 and 1973 helped women find doctors who would provide safe abortions in a caring environment. Rev. Davis explained that starting in the 1930s, clergy had also been active in the fight not only to legalize contraception but also to make it widely accepted. Katha Pollitt, the noted author and columnist for The Nation, the featured speaker, painted a dreary picture of the political landscape.
To help challenge and mobilize the next generation of activists to dedicate itself to continuing the struggle for reproductive freedom, Rev. Emma Jordan Simpson, Executive Director of Girls, Inc. in New York City challenged us to walk with those young women who are faced with difficult choices and to fight for their right to make them. (See page 1 for selections from her remarks.)
Alexandra Christy and her daughter, Catherine Coggeshall, ended the evening by performing "Let Every Child Be Wanted and Adored," written by Ms. Christy, for her daughter when she was five. Their inspiring performance had everyone standing and singing before picking up their candles for the procession out the door.
Philadelphia, PA
A prayer vigil conducted by the Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania (PPSP) Board of Chaplains was one of the many ways that the affiliate marked the 30th anniversary of Roe. The vigil took place late on a chilly afternoon in the PPSP courtyard where members of the clergy blessed the building, honored women and staff, and prayed for the Supreme Court justices and the administration. Among the five members of the clergy who participated in the service were two PPFA Clergy Advisory Board members, Revs. William Levering and Deborah McKinley, each of whom is a pastor at a local Philadelphia church.
Following the service, the affiliate invited everyone inside for desserts and hot chocolate and to share their stories. Many of the 60 who attended told tales of courage and strength that inspired all who heard them.
Kalamazoo, MI
Up in Kalamazoo, at the First Presbyterian Church, the Clergy Advisory Board of Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan (PPSCM) held an interfaith service of reflection as their way of marking the anniversary. Much of the noon service was based on material that Rabbi Cheryl Jacobs, the former vice president for public affairs at Planned Parenthood Hudson/Peconic, developed especially for this special anniversary. The front of the program carried this brief, but forceful message:
The struggle for freedom to make one's own reproductive decisions is still obstructed by denial, fear, and hate. Theology, faith, and the law affirm every person's free will and responsibility to make their own decisions.
That evening more than 100 people gathered for a Speak Out with a rabbi and a Presbyterian minister on a panel. Rev. Mark Pawlowski, PPSCM executive director/CEO, observed, "In retrospect, our Roe celebrations would not have been as rich without clergy involvement."
Peoria, IL
Along with other constituency groups supporting Planned Parenthood Heart of Illinois (PPHOI), the affiliate's Clergy Advisory Board prepared a special statement on abortion for a press conference held on January 22. The clergy saluted Planned Parenthood's commitment to reducing the need for abortion and noted that the Peoria community has acknowledged how effective PPHOI has been in this regard.
The statement went on to say, "Abortion must remain safe and legal because we know what happens when it isn't legal. ... [I]t is woman's right to decide what happens to her own body. ...
"The ... committee ... believes that reproductive freedom is intrinsically tied to religious liberty. ... [It] opposes civil laws that would impose specific religious views about abortion or other reproductive options on all Americans."
Colorado Springs, CO
Here in the capital of the religious right, the Colorado Springs People of Faith for Reproductive Choice, which works very closely with Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM), invited the community to commemorate Roe at the Voices of Choice Interfaith Service.The service began with a review of the violence perpetrated against abortion providers for the past 30 years and a reminder that abortion rates are lowest where abortion is legal and free and where contraception is readily available. There were prayers for everyone - women with problem pregnancies, teens, men, and parents. Participants read stories about choice, including three from PPRM patients, one of whom expressed gratitude for the PPRM doctor who helped her decide to carry her pregnancy to term.The participants urged that we support women who must make difficult choices and that we tell everyone's story so that people will understand what is really at stake in the effort to preserve and protect reproductive freedom.
Santa Barbara, CA
The clergy group of Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties conducted an interfaith service that attracted a large crowd. The service celebrated the pro-choice values of privacy, tolerance, compassion, and respect for a woman's right to self-determination. The service provided a sacred setting for personal reflection through music, readings, silence, and ritual.
Fairbanks, AK
Rev. Douglas Leggett, pastor of the Midnight Sun United Church in Fairbanks, Alaska, took the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Roe and the opening of a Planned Parenthood of Alaska clinic in Fairbanks to pay tribute to Planned Parenthood at a worship service on Sunday, January 26. He did more than just talk.
Together with a member of his congregation and in collaboration with Anna Franks, the affiliate executive director, he helped organize an informal welcome to Fairbanks for Planned Parenthood. While protesters from the local Bible Baptist Church picketed the front of the mall where the clinic is located, more than 20 community leaders, including a representation of religious and spiritual leaders, gathered inside to offer flowers, a candle, and blessings for the work of Planned Parenthood.
In a letter to the editor of the Fairbanks Daily News Miner, published in early March, Rev. Leggett wrote,
I am saddened by those who rail ... against the work of Planned Parenthood in the name of God while at the same time do little ... to work to end the root causes of poverty, racism and injustice that lead to unwanted children in our community and our world.
As a minister I am painfully aware of the complex issues that women and families are faced with in the face of an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy...
I invite you to join me not only in extending a warm welcome to Planned Parenthood as they serve our wider community, but also to make your views known to elected officials so that the precious right of woman to choose can be protected.
Planned Parenthood 2003 Annual Confrence Keeps Clergy Busy
Interfaith Prayer Breakfast Combines Bioethics and Bagels
In her remarks to the large crowd that assembled for the third Planned Parenthood annual conference interfaith prayer breakfast, PPFA President Gloria Feldt reported on actions we are taking to ensure the Planned Parenthood family will be fully informed about advances in the science and technology of human reproduction. This is a necessary first step in reaching Goal Eight of our Vision for 2025, which calls on Planned Parenthood to "be an authoritative voice on bioethical standards related to reproductive health and sexuality."
As part of the process, the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board (CAB) invited Rev. Dr. Ronald Cole-Turner, the H. Parker Sharp Professor of Theology and Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, to discuss, "Bioethics: The Search for a Moral Compass."But first, in keeping with the theme of the conference, "Tell Your Story, Change the World," Professor Cole-Turner shared the story of how he and his wife, when they were impoverished graduate students, went to Planned Parenthood for simple family planning. "Planned Parenthood," he said, "gave us the resources we needed to plan our lives and pursue our dreams."
Turning to his theme for the morning, Professor Cole-Turner discussed the recent advances in genetic testing for embryos produced by in vitro fertilization as the beginning of a process that will allow us to pick not just among embryos but eventually to select individual genetic traits to be passed on to our children. He noted that the technology that expands our choices might, at the same time, limit them if individuals are coerced or manipulated into making choices that conflict with what are, in fact, their fundamental values.
Professor Cole-Turner suggested that in the face of such pressures, Planned Parenthood should pledge to help our communities and the public we serve understand the advances that are coming and help all of us resist the coercion of media-driven images and stereotypes of perfect babies or fantasy bodies or fantasy lives. "The problem," he said, "is not in the science. The problem is in what people will do with the science... to themselves and their offspring through science."
The Planned Parenthood family will have an opportunity to hear more from Professor Cole-Turner in July, when he will participate in the Planned Parenthood bioethics symposium that in Snowbird, Utah.
At last year's prayer breakfast, PPFA instituted the Reverends Davis Distinguished Service Award to celebrate the many clergy who support Planned Parenthood as advocates, counselors, and participants in Planned Parenthood affiliate efforts to provide educational and health services to their communities. The award is presented annually to a member of the clergy who best represents the life-long dedication of Rev. Dr. Tom Davis and his late wife, Rev. Betsy Morgan Davis, to the advancement of reproductive rights and to the Planned Parenthood mission and programs.
This year's recipient was the Reverend Dr. David A. Ames, who served on the board of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island for 17 years, including a term as chair. He is the Episcopal Chaplain of Brown University in Providence, RI, where he is also an assistant professor of community health at Brown Medical School.Dr. Ames serves on the Episcopal Task Force on Ethics and the New Genetics. He contributed a chapter to task force publication, A Christian Response to the our New Genetic Powers (forthcoming 2003).
In accepting the Davis award, Dr. Ames made a measured and compassionate statement on abortion as a moral choice. He concluded with Rev. Dr. George Regas' simple, but compelling plea for the right to choose: "To force the unwanted on the unwilling, to coerce a woman to use her body against her will and choice, is a kind of legalized rape — and it is morally repugnant."
Commenting on the remarks of Professor Cole-Turner and Rev. Dr. Ames at the breakfast, Rev. Dr. Charles Brown, Planned Parenthood League of Virginia board member and the William B. Oglesby Professor of Pastoral Theology at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA, said, "It's always great when members of the clergy can hit a home run."
Clergy Advisory Board Charts a Course for the Coming Year
More than 35 members of the clergy attended the meeting of the CAB. Jodie Leu, PPFA assistant director, Government Relations, provided an update on the legislative issues that we face. Her presentation was so well received that nearly all who attended signed up to receive weekly legislative updates from the PPFA Government Relations Department.
Rev. Paul Robinson, board member of Planned Parenthood Health Services of Southwestern Oregon, discussed his study trip to the Netherlands, Germany, and France sponsored by the Advocates for Youth Rights. Respect. Responsibility.® campaign to promote sexual health. Rev. Robinson has helped his affiliate enlist support from local clergy for the campaign. At the CAB meeting, he shared what he learned about the programs, policies, and research supporting the strategies responsible for lower rates of teen pregnancy, birth, abortion, and sexually transmitted infections in these countries.
A good portion of the meeting was devoted to discussing a draft of a statement on sexual ethics that CAB member, Rev. Dr. William Levering, circulated to the group prior to the meeting. It was obvious from the many constructive comments and suggestions that the group had done its homework. A revised version will be circulated for approval and then presented to the federation as a contribution to the realization of Goal One for Vision 2025 which calls on Planned Parenthood to "ensure that sexuality is understood as an essential, lifelong aspect of being human and that it is celebrated with respect, openness and mutuality."
Plans for the coming year include creating two task forces, one on bioethics to provide a religious perspective on Goal Eight and the other on recruitment to help build additional support for Planned Parenthood in the faith community.
Smile, You're On!
Adina Wingate Quijada, senior press officer, and Lisa Wise, Public Policy field manager for the Western States, conducted an abbreviated media training session for clergy to test their response as a first step in developing a comprehensive program especially for them. Clergy generally liked the message boxes and found them helpful in ordering their thinking about the issues. Adkina commented that the conversation provided many ideas about ways in which clergy could help in conveying our messages.
Lisa, who had time to conduct on camera training for only two clergy members, provided very practical advice to all who attended on how to prepare for television appearances and interviews. She noted, "[C]lergy ... approach messages from a point of compassion rather than fact and that's compelling — it's part of why we love having them as spokespeople." Amen!
The Reverend Dr. J. Philip Wogaman Praises Gloria Feldt's Behind Every Choice Is A Story
You read correctly. In addition to leading the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Gloria Feldt is the author (with Carol Trickett Jennings) of a new book, Behind Every Choice Is A Story — a collection of letters written by mothers, daughters, teenagers, teachers, doctors, patients, activists, clergy, politicians, and other women and men against the background of the struggle for reproductive freedom and for sexuality education that is balanced and accurate. The letters deal with universal issues — love, sex, pregnancy, health, family, and the future — but each of the individual stories is unique.
Introducing Gloria at a book signing in Washington, DC, the day before the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Rev. Dr. J. Philip Wogaman noted, "I have been waiting for years for some one to write a book like this. ... The stories it tells turn abstract controversy into deeply felt human drama."
Dr. Wogaman, now retired as senior minister of the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, commended Ms. Feldt for including her own story in detail. He noted that, while it might make her vulnerable, it also helps emphasize the need to express our sexuality responsibly and the fact that we are not endowed with unlimited resources to fulfill the obligations that being good and loving parents entails.
Her own story is an integral part of the book, but Ms. Feldt says, "[It] is not about me, but about the truth of the many stories of the women, men, and young people as they speak about their personal choices from the pages of this book."
O'Reilly Factor Inspires PPFA Clergy Advisory Board Members To Consider Jesus' Views On Abortion
Rev. Mark Bigelow, pastor of the Congregational Church of Huntington, Centerport, New York, is a member of the PPFA Board of Directors and of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board. Last December, he accepted an invitation to appear — perhaps duel would be a better word — on the television show, The O'Reilly Factor, to talk about how Jesus would view abortion. Mr. O'Reilly also discussed the PPFA holiday card sentiment, "Choice on Earth." Before going on the show, Rev. Bigelow remarked, "Bill O'Reilly eats people like me for lunch." But that is not the way it turned out.
Rev. Bigelow reminded Mr. O'Reilly, who agreed, that abortion is not mentioned in the Bible and that therefore one can only infer what Jesus might have said from the general tenor of his teachings. Having laid the groundwork, Rev. Bigelow went on to say, "What we do know is that Jesus ... spoke for the integrity of the individual, for free will, for the opportunity [for] people to express their faith, to live their lives according to their values, and to make the most personal decisions, according to their own values. This is what it means to be pro-choice. And so I say, 'yes,' I do think that Jesus would support the right of a woman to choose to have an abortion."
After seeing the show, other clergy seconded Rev. Bigelow's remarks. Rev. Dr. Ignacio Castuera, pastor of the St. John's United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, CA, commented, "The issue is not, as Mr. O'Reilly asserted, how many abortions there are, but rather the number of women's lives that have been saved because abortion is safe. ..."
Rev. Castuera continued, "We can extrapolate from all the other life-affirming stories about Jesus (speaking to a Samaritan woman, including women in his company of disciples, granting the request of a Syro-phoenician woman, challenging those who wanted to apply the law against adultery narrowly) to conclude that Jesus would indeed support a woman's right to choose. More important is that his followers today continue to support choice, without seeking to impose such views on others."
With regard to the PPFA holiday card, Rev. Castuera noted, "This is a time of year to remind people that choice is indeed sacred ... and that people are diminished in their humanity when choices are removed. Progressive religious traditions proclaim that the God of all is a God who endowed us with the capacity to make choices. This view is one [Planned Parenthood] want [s] to share with, not impose on, others."
Rev. Mark Pawlowski, president/CEO Planned Parenthood, South Central Michigan, held the same view of the sentiment on the card as Dr. Castuera and agreed with Rev. Bigelow that we must look to how Jesus lived and what he taught. "I think that Jesus was about 'making human life more human in the world.' And while we can take comfort from thinking that O'Reilly and others just don't 'get it,' in this world of cheap grace and fast answers, sadly, we often come across as too complicated."
From Cleveland, Rev. Martha Shiverick added, "We are created in God's image, with the ability to make decisions, to weigh different options, and then to make a choice. With regard to the right of a woman to determine when and whether to have a child, I believe that Jesus would be respectful, tender, and loving toward any woman in a problem pregnancy. He would not judge her or feel that her problem pregnancy was a deserved punishment. He would not demean her but would be patient as she made decisions for herself, and would be tough on those who took her freedoms away or failed to show her respect. By his example of unconditional love, Jesus instructs us all to do likewise."
Rev. Gene Mace, board chair of Planned Parenthood, Heart of Illinois, noted, "Jesus appeared to recognize that the choices we face in life are not either good or bad and that our decisions cannot always be optimal. Nevertheless, he called on people to make choices and live with them."
Rev. Donna Morton, from Louisville, KY, did not mince words. "There is no question in my mind," she said, "that Jesus would be pro-choice. But there is also no question in my mind that anti-choice zealots have no desire to listen to reason."
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