Alana Massey of Yale Divinity School

To many, the season of Lent is a chance to revamp a New Year’s resolution to give up Diet Coke or carbs  or chocolate and play Spot-the-Devout on that first Wednesday when people are sporting oily ash on their foreheads.  For Christians who take the season seriously, however, it is a time of penitential reverence and sacrifice, a time of prayer and fasting.

For opponents of abortion, this translates into the launch of the 40 Days for Life campaign that will reach 258 locations across the globe.  40 Days for Life is a different kind of abortion opposition than we are used to seeing in media and on the sidewalks outside of clinics. Instead of mutilated fetuses and shaming language, these groups silently pray outside of clinics that offer abortion services in the hopes that women will change their minds about their abortions.   Though I fundamentally disagree with their message, I do not doubt the sincerity of those involved and appreciate their refusal to engage in aggressive behavior against women seeking legal medical services.  But as an activist, I wanted to act.

I thought long and hard about a way that the Seminarians for Reproductive Justice might react responsibly and faithfully to these protests.  I considered a 40 Days for Choice campaign in New Haven.  I imagined a blitz of blog posts related to reproductive justice for every day of Lent (you’re welcome in advance that I did not bombard your Facebook wall with such an effort).  A counter prayer vigil crossed my mind. But in the end, I went a traditional route and chose to give something up instead of taking something on.  For Lent, I am going on a fast from the anger that so often fuels this movement.

To be clear, I remain devastated by the assault on reproductive freedom. I am outraged by the male-dominated conversation about what is right for women’s bodies.  My heart breaks when I hear of funding cuts to essential family planning that includes abortions.  But when that anger becomes rage, it becomes a waste of emotional and spiritual resources.   For Lent, I want to turn that anger into love.  Love of justice. Love of freedom. Love of our embodied and sexual selves. Love of women.  Love of the wisdom we were endowed with to make our own decisions with the spirit as our guide instead of state legislatures.

And because love is patient and because love is kind, I will try to live as both this season of Lent.  Can’t be any harder than giving up Diet Coke.

 Alana Massey is a second year student in the M.A. in Religion program at Yale Divinity School. She is a co-chair of the Seminarians for Reproductive Justice.

Jordan Haynie of Yale Divinity School.

I met first-year MDiv student Corinne Ellis and learned more about the position of the UCC. I talked with YDS graduate Suzanna Krivulskaya about the intersections of this work and her academic study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in conjunction with Religion.  I learned from a Yale College undergraduate how abortion is a non-issue in Sweden where she grew up.  It was a diverse group of women sharing their view and experiences with a pro-choice ethic and using their time and their physical selves to promote that view.

I imagine that most readers are well-aware of what protesters at women’s clinics say and do.  There are variations on murder accusations, appeals to our fears of facing God on Judgment Day, and undermining our education as anti-woman, anti-family brainwashing.  Someone sprayed holy water from what looked like an old Febreeze bottle at the parking lot. The posters are gruesome, the language harsh.

But what was more interesting than their actions was the symbolic meaning of their position on either side of us.  Planned Parenthood in New Haven has two entrances, both of which  you can’t get in or out without encountering protestors.    When you go there for care, to work, or to volunteer you’re literally surrounded by anti-choice sentiment and hurtful accusations.   It is important to remember that this is the political and social position of pro-choice activists across the country, surrounded by forces hostile to the rights of women to seek safe and legal abortions and encountering them whenever they leave the safe but small space where pro-choice positions are welcome.

In general, protesters in Louisville are much more numerous and aggressive than the ones in New Haven.

We have the incredible good fortune of living in Connecticut, a state where most laws governing reproductive health favor the choices of women. But pro-choice activists in other states are under constant threat of having the rights they fight so hard for stripped away.  One such state is Kentucky, where the brave men and women of Every Saturday Morning face aggressive anti-choice legislation and even more aggressive protestors every single week at a Louisville clinic.  They do not have the luxury of a parking lot as a barrier to the protestors and they don’t have the majority of the local electorate on their side.  But still they come, five days a week, putting themselves at risk for the sake of reproductive justice.

It is the work of groups like this that remind seminarians, particularly here at Yale, that we ought never take reproductive rights for granted.    The stories from Kentucky and other places ought to remind us that calls to ministry have a funny way of not being limited to progressive communities where the moral agency of women will be respected.  When we stand out there Saturday mornings, we stand with the women seeking care and our fellow activists.  We pray that we will have the courage to stand in the face of such hostility with the same grace as they do.

Alana Massey is a second year Masters student at Yale Divinity School and co-chair  of the Seminarians for Reproductive Justice.

The Rev. Dr. Maria LaSala, Co-Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of New Haven wrote the following piece for the December newsletter of The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.  The Seminarians for Reproductive Justice had the pleasure of hearing Rev. LaSala speak to us on the theology of choice in October. 

In my twenty-five years of ministry I can’t tell you how often I have been approached by folk who offer up a challenge to my pro-choice theological position. It happens during the Advent season especially, when those who are anti-choice exclaim in loud and sometimes threatening tones, “What would have happened if Mary had had an abortion!”

I am always stunned by such a remark, of course. How did that person get from the Advent story of the Annunciation, to abortion?

The Annunciation story, and for that matter, the remarkable story of God becoming human, says nothing about abortion. But it does say something about choice, and perhaps that is why it is a lightning rod text for those who seek to deny women the right to choose a safe and legal abortion.

This Advent season it might be good for those of us who are pro-choice Christian clergy to name this story for what it is, a pro-choice scripture text. As Christians around the world enter the season of Advent, the time of preparation for the birth of Jesus, it might be helpful to see the annunciation story and Mary, the mother of Jesus, in a new light. The story is found in the Christian New Testament’s Gospel according to Luke. One of the two gospels to tell the birth narrative of Jesus, Luke’s Gospel includes the story of two women facing unplanned pregnancies. The story of the annunciation begins with the angel Gabriel and a young girl whose name is Mary. Imagine the scene with me. Mary is seen in her room, reading Torah perhaps, or a book of prayers, when suddenly an angel of God appears before her. We like to imagine Mary this way because we see in her the ideal candidate for the role she is about to play. The angel is in dazzling clothes, a sight to behold. “Greetings favored one,” we hear Gabriel announce. Mary, not surprisingly, is perplexed by his words and wonders what just might be happening.

“Don’t be afraid,” the angel continues. “You have found favor with God.” But what kind of favor is in store for Mary? The story goes on to tell us that the angel pronounces that Mary will conceive and bear a son, who will be named Jesus. A pro-choice reading makes one thing very clear. Mary, the young woman who has just received a visit from an angel, is blessed by God with the ability to make a choice. Mary is a young woman charged by the holy with her own moral agency, a woman able to reflect on her life and on the world around her.

“How can this be?” Mary inquires. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most High will overshadow you.” The conception has not yet occurred. The possibility for Mary to decline this offer hovers between the angel and Mary. After all these words, it is now time for Mary to respond.

The author Frederick Buechner imagines the scene of Mary encountering the angel this way:

She struck him as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child. But he had been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it. He told her what the child was to be named, who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. ‘You mustn’t be afraid, Mary,’ he said. As he said it, he only hoped she wouldn’t notice that beneath the great golden wings, he himself was trembling with fear to think that the whole future of Creation hung on the answer of a girl.”

In Buechner’s book, there’s a picture of Gabriel above that brief description. He’s viewed from the rear. His hands are behind his back, and his fingers are crossed. “Let it be done to me according to your word.”

The angel waited for Mary’s consent! And then we hear that Mary chooses to say yes to the angel’s invitation.

I am not suggesting that God took a chance on Mary. I don’t believe for a moment that God had any doubts that Mary would say yes. But I also hear in this well loved scripture text the story of a God who understood that Mary could have a choice. It seems important to God that Mary agree to this pregnancy, that it not be forced upon her.

Time and time again we will see how God gives God’s people choices in their decisions to follow in God’s way. The annunciation story is but one of many pointing to a God who invites us into relationship with God, with ourselves, and with others; God gives us the power to make moral choices, and trusts that we will do so.

We pro-choice religious people value life. We also value the sacred dimension of decision making. I believe now as I always have that a pro-choice theology is a pro-life theology. Our sexuality is a divine gift. We are partners with God in creation and we are blessed and challenged to make choices, to decide about when and how we will give birth to the next generation. For life to flourish, the scriptures remind us again and again, conditions need to be right.

I believe that a society is strong only when its women are able to have choices and make decisions about their reproductive health. That has been one of the guiding truths of my life. When women are denied the power to determine their own reproductive futures, they are denied the power to earn a decent living, denied the ability to seek higher education, denied the chance to live fully into the women that God has created them to be. And when a society is determined to grant those choices to women, the society is better able to adapt to economic change, social change, and even political change.

This Advent let us remember Mary and her pro-choice theology, giving thanks to God for the life that flourished inside her, life that became Jesus the Christ And let us give thanks for the clear and certain truth that God trusts women to make good and responsible choices for themselves, their loved ones, and for the good of all humanity.

Reference: Frederick Beuchner, Peculiar Treasures. (Harper Collins: New York, 1979).

Choosing to be theologically pro-choice was not a difficult decision for me. To me, it seemed self-evident. There are really two lives that must be considered when it comes to the issue of abortion: the life of the woman who is already living and breathing and working in the world, and the potential life of a child not yet born. Although my position is typically referred to as “pro-choice” rather than “pro-life,” I claim the title of pro-life. I am not anti-life. Instead, I argue for the life of the woman whose body has become a moral battleground. I argue for the life of the victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault. I argue for the life of the woman suffering from an ectopic pregnancy. I argue for the life of the woman who cannot afford the expenses associated with child-bearing and who refuses to bring a child into a world of poverty and suffering.

However, I can understand the perspectives and values of persons who claim a more orthodox pro-life stance on the abortion debate. Abortion is always a difficult decision, and never to be taken lightly. The truth is, most women who have abortions are not JUST having an abortion. It is not a minor chore for them in between washing the dishes and doing a load of laundry. No, abortion is a Big Deal. We want women to be thinking long and hard before choosing to have an abortion. It is a hard decision. But once that decision is made, we want women to have the freedom to pursue their choice without being made to feel even worse.

At this point, you have probably heard about the amendment being voted on right now in the state of Mississippi, titled Initiative 26. This initiative proposes adding a new section under Article III of the State Constitution, which is the Bill of Rights, defining “personhood.” The text of the amendment reads:

SECTION 33. Person defined. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, “The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.

The implications of this seemingly innocuous definition are significant. The intent, as advertised by the “Yes on 26” campaign (http://www.yeson26.net), is to outlaw abortions. However, this is not the only outcome of this bill. Birth control, in vitro fertilization methods, and cryogenics may be affected, not to mention any number of other more complicated and possibly absurd implications (is a woman who miscarries guilty of involuntary manslaughter?).

The debate right now seems to center on the issue of moral law, but almost inevitably includes a tangential debate about the authority of the Bible and God in the “law of the land.” As a person of faith, I find this particular debate to be both frustrating and harmful, if not primarily because the Bible has absolutely nothing to say regarding abortion. Misinterpretation of the Bible aside, the question of religiosity influencing constitutional law within a country founded on the idea of separation of church and state is much more troubling.

The problem comes when the argument for banning abortion is founded on religious “truth.” The assumption made by such an argument is that there is a dominant religious view regarding the issue, and that particular religious view has the authority to govern the lives of people who may or may not agree with the particular issue at hand. Outlawing abortion because of religious zeal becomes a statement against any faith or non-faith that disagrees with that viewpoint. Being anti-abortion does not mean that you have to make it illegal to have abortions. Instead, you can choose to not have an abortion yourself, or you can choose to talk openly and honestly with a woman who may need help. Understand that your personal beliefs may not be shared by all.

The particularly troubling thing about Initiative 26 is that it’s only the first of several similar amendments. Six more states are already preparing similar amendments to go on the ballot in 2012. If Initiative 26 passes, it will be only the beginning in the fight against a woman’s right to choose. As a person of faith and a future minister, at this point I can only pray that Initiative 26 does not pass, and if it does, I will pray that it does not ignite a fire that spreads across the nation. Mother God, protect your daughters from the tide of hateful anti-abortion fervor, and welcome them into the safety of your loving embrace.

Smile and hold up your folder if you love reproductive justice!

Last week, the Seminarians for Reproductive Justice attended a training sessions with Planned Parenthood to participate on their Welcome Crew. As many may know, Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortion services are frequent targets for anti-choice protesters, often harassing patients and staff by shouting offensive accusations and wielding gruesome and misleading posters.  The Welcome Crew is a group of volunteers that welcomes patients and makes sure that protesters stay within their rights by not obstructing patient access or stepping over the line with their rhetoric.

When the twelve Yale Divinity students receiving the training were asked why we were interested in Welcome Crew at the beginning of training, the overwhelming number sited their anger at the protesters and a desire to actively stand against it.  By the end of the session, we were reminded that the primary reason for serving in this context is not because we want to defeat the protestors but because we want to empower and affirm the women seeking service.  We serve because we have a vision of justice that sees women lifted up and acknowledged as moral agents not because we have a vision of ourselves telling off protestors to make ourselves feel righteous.

The silence required of the Welcome Crew is going to be a particular challenge, at least for myself. As a Divinity student from a progressive faith tradition, there is a desire to rattle off scripture that challenges the anti-choice movement and shames them  for abandoning Christ’s command to love each other with all of hearts, all of our souls, and all of our minds.   But that righteous indignation is about me, not about those I wish to serve. There is of course, a time and place for strong-worded confrontation in the movement for social justice. But that time and place are not in front of Planned Parenthood on Saturday mornings, when women in already vulnerable positions are being verbally assaulted by strangers. At times like this, silence, warmth, and radical compassion ought to be directed at the women seeking care, their companions, and the protesters lining the sidewalks.

Finally, I want to note how exceptional the employees of Planned Parenthood have been in our experience so far. When we met Erin Livensparger at the Contraceptive Counseling training with Med Students for Choice, I thought she just happened to be an extraordinary educator and women’s advocate.  But meeting Pat and Erika at the training, it became evident how committed to the cause of reproductive justice everyone who works there is.  I am nervous at the prospect of being shouted at one weekend a month by protesters, yet these individuals face these attacks every day while maintaining their senses of humor and living into a vision of justice that treats women and their decisions with the love and respect we are all called to give.  I am excited that so many Yale Divinity students feel called to live into that vision with this important action in our community.

 I recently had the pleasure of meeting with the board of Connecticut’s wing of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice who told me about the 1 in 3 Campaign, an initiative we are excited to be a part of at YDS.      The campaign centers around empowering women to tell their abortion stories, to end the silence around this exceptionally safe, common, and legal procedure.   Though our work at YDS and in New Haven will not center around these stories, the hope is that we can start conversations about a topic that people simply don’t want to talk about, even ones who are politically and spiritually-aligned with the pro-choice position.

One of the most powerful message of the 1 in 3 Campaign is its impact on the anti-choice narrative that all abortions are traumatic decisions that women ultimately regret and must therefore be safeguarded against.  When faced with the reality that so many women have had abortions, this narrow story of tragedy and regret must be met with skepticism.  Women who have abortions do so for a variety of reasons and have a variety of emotional reactions afterward, from tremendous relief to deep remorse.  When faced with so many stories of women happy with their decision to terminate their pregnancies, the claim that the anti-choice movement is aimed at serving and protecting women loses much of its power.

Of course, as future leaders in faith or social justice work, our message is not that women do not or should not regret their abortions.  They can and they will.   Our job will be to offer the comfort and support they need for any of their reactions. Our message is that it is ultimately the moral agency within every woman to decide whether abortion is the right choice for her, and to provide a safe environment that offers the spiritual affirmation and support needed for her particular reaction to the decision.  That we will not decide whether or not she should or should not feel a certain way about her abortion.

  Integrating the 1 in 3 Campaign into a pro-choice ministry also lets women know that they are not alone.  That no matter what fears or anxieties they are experiencing in an unplanned pregnancy, other women have had it as well and emerged with their dignity and their faith intact.   For those in seminary who are nominally pro-choice but see it a marginal issue for the church, the 1 in 3 Campaign is a reminder that the issue of abortion is not only political.  It is personal and is indeed, pastoral.  It is an experience of the women in your congregation, in their families, and in the world that you plan to serve.      That’s why we see it as crucial for future leaders of the church to have the theological tools to affirm a pro-choice ethic in their ministries.  

To learn more about the 1 in 3 Campaign, you can click  here. To learn more about the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, you can click here.

Joining voices for choice across schools and future vocations at Yale.

Tonight Seminarians for Reproductive Justice at Yale Divinity joined students from Yale’s schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health for a powerful workshop on contraceptive counseling put on by Planned Parenthood‘s wonderful Erin Livensparger. About 25 people attended this lively, frank, and informative discussion about the facts and feelings that go into contraceptive counseling.

The workshop combined technical know-how with practical guidance on appropriate language and communication skills to use when encountering people making choices about contraception and family planning.  Erin is clearly a woman who excels at her job, bringing humor, insight and compassion into each portion of the discussion. Open and nonjudgmental counseling is easier aspired to than actually performed but Erin provided our group with real-life examples of how we can respond honestly to people’s questions about contraceptive options without ever attempting to manipulate their values or convince them to make choices that reflect only what we think is best for them.

We went into the program anticipating a disconnect in understanding between the scientifically-oriented students and our group from the Divinity School.  It was soon evident that we will face similar struggles when we encounter men and women seeking our counsel.  Pro-choice healthcare providers and religious leaders will both face the predicament of patients and clients seeking someone in a position of some authority to make their decisions, whether that is what birth control method to use to making normative statements about the moral dimensions of various expressions of human sexuality in a religious context.

Our jobs will never be to make their choices for them. But tonight we learned how we can provide a safe space to explore options that reflect the values of the patient or client that involves neither judgment nor an attempt to change someone’s values.  Erin reminded us, “You cannot own their problems and you cannot own their solutions.” That we can and must trust the moral and intellectual agency of our fellows without taking complete ownership and responsibility for them was a simple but important reflection on the meaning of choice.

Alana Massey

This will be an opportunity to learn some of the language surrounding contraception that will be useful in a variety of vocations, including women’s health ministries and for those working with youth.  It is also an opportunity to show solidarity with the brave men and women who will be working in reproductive health environments that promote choice.

If you are interested in attending with YDS Seminarians for Reproductive Justice, please email alanakmassey@gmail.com by Friday, September 30th at noon!

Our hope for this year is to become an active and visible presence for the pro-choice voice both at Yale Divinity School and in the broader community that we hope to serve.  We also want to expand our efforts into a national network of seminarians working for reproductive justice, as pastors, educators, social justice advocates, and simply people living their faith.

Check back for more activity as we build this site and leave your suggestions in the comments!