The Pro-Choice Movement Finds an Under-Recognized Ally: Religious Groups

“There is a vast pro-choice religious community in the United States that could provide the moral, cultural, and political clout to reverse current anti-abortion policy trends,” Frederick Clarkson, senior research analyst at Political Research Associates, a Massachusetts-based think tank that’s studied rightwing movements since 1981, wrote in an essay that was released in September.

“They have vast resources, institutional capacity, historic and central roles in many towns and cities, and cadres of well-educated leaders at every level.” “We need people, especially religious leaders, to show compassion, empathy, and humility and be loud and proud about their support for reproductive justice.” It’s a rosy assessment and it will soon be put to the test as Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, an ultra-conservative Catholic who opposes abortion and birth control, stands before the Senate for judicial vetting. Although Clarkson’s essay does not zero in on Trump, Coney Barrett, or other appointments, it’s impossible not to wonder if the clout he posits can be summoned.

“The reality,” Clarkson reports, “is that vast numbers of religious people are pro-choice.” Studies bear this out. A 2017 survey by the Pew Research Center, for example, found that 57 percent of U.S. residents supported legal […]

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