13 - Conclusion

Summary

When you come here bring only love.

This text formed part of banner hung outside an abortion clinic in Texas, US by clinic staff (Taft, 2010). It was a visual resistance to the hostile, sometimes violent activities of the anti-abortion movement, some of whom regularly gathered outside. Charlotte Taft, abortion provider, reflects on this hostility, which included the murder of her dear friend, Dr George Tiller, and observes that in the US an unholy war was underway ‘waged by Fundamentalist Christians who believe they are (entitled) to act for their vengeful God’ (Taft, 2010: 1). The fundamentalist position is not unique to the US; across the globe hostile positions on abortion have been a focal point for the religious right and conservative forces who present it as immoral. This imagery of war and vengeance, and the physical violence that it has resulted in, could be described as an extreme position on the prochoice/prolife dichotomy. However, the pervasiveness of the idea that abortion is always immoral leaves many people of faith feeling that a stance of total rejection of abortion is the only one that is acceptable for a believer, particularly in the Christian traditions. Moral absolutism dominates the religious discourse on abortion in many Christian societies, particularly those where religious narratives have been co-opted by political entities pursuing a platform for right-wing ideologies.

This book has examined an alternative religious approach to abortion that flows from the assertion that it is not immoral, and that faith communities and organisations can affirm the reproductive rights and freedoms of pregnant people. People of faith provide abortions, have abortions and are supportive of access to abortion, despite these perspectives having been drowned out, or ignored, in both faith and secular settings. We have presented research evidence, scholarly analysis, case studies, and reflections on praxis from around the globe, from academics, theologians, practitioners and some who wear all of these hats. Engaging with religious framing from within Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism, the authors have critically examined how liberal faith organisations position, discuss, engage with and advocate for abortion as a healthcare procedure chosen by women and pregnant people in good faith, exercising their own moral autonomy.