On Friday, June 24, 2022, women became second-class citizens in America. That morning, the Supreme Court issued the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that repealed the right to a legal abortion that had been guaranteed to all Americans since 1973. With this Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, women lost the right to have a choice about their bodies. This decision removed women’s constitutional rights to privacy while denying their bodily autonomy. Women are no longer equal to men under the law. With this ruling, women no longer have the right to make choices about their bodies the way men do. This decision has left many, though not all, filled with rage and disbelief – how could they do this? How could they take away that right? We are talking about the most American of values – the values of freedom, autonomy, and self-determination.

For 30 years, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has taken a strong active stance to support women’s reproductive healthcare and choice. Click here to watch the statement issued by church leaders. As a denomination, we believe in the capacity of women to make good decisions about their health care – including abortion. We support the right of women to choose when to have children, to decide what is best for their families. As a person of faith, I believe this Supreme Court ruling is an act of oppression disguised in legal language. Legislating morality is not how faith is lived. God gives us a choice. Each person has to decide what to do as they consult with their significant others and medical advisors. If they are committed to a faith journey, they pray and seek God’s guidance about what is best for their situation.

Of the 64 million women and girls of reproductive age in America, a majority live in states where abortion will now be restricted or banned. Depending on where they live, this ruling eliminates full access to all the healthcare they may need in making the decision of what it means to be responsible in their own lives. This ruling will not end abortions. Women who need help with unwanted or dangerous pregnancies will now have fewer safe options. Abortion-rights activists predict women of color, rural residents, low-income women, and LGBTQ people will be disproportionately affected. In light of this decision, we need to advocate and support women on issues of access to healthcare. The people who will suffer most are those in our communities who don’t have the resources to take off work, to drive across several states to get the healthcare they need. We need to stand on the side of freedom for women to make critically important decisions regarding their lives, their health, their bodies. Whatever choice a woman makes regarding her health is between that woman, her God, her family, and her doctor. America must prioritize reproductive justice and access to affordable healthcare over those whose opinions create a narrow definition of the sanctity of life. We thought this fight was over. It’s still with us, over the issue of the right to choose what to do with our own bodies. God help us stand together on behalf of reproductive freedom for women.

– Rev. Dr. Sarah Nave
Pastor, Parkview Presbyterian Church