Medill News Service/The Politico Examines Emergence Of The 'Pro-Choice Spiritual Left'

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 21 Jul 2008 - 7:00 PST

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Medill News Service/The Politico on Wednesday examined the emergence of the so-called "pro-choice spiritual left," which has "created a bridge between abortion-rights groups and those on the left who speak theologically about sex and abortion." According to Medill News Service/The Politico, this group of abortion supporters "draws from a pool of youth" under age 30 who "increasingly have reported themselves as 'spiritual but not religious.'" The group also backs a "'holistic approach' to sex education policy that includes comprehensive information that teaches about the benefits of contraception as well as abstinence."

According to Medill News Service/The Politico, presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been giving "prominence to the religious vernacular of the left." Obama has supported legislation such as the Prevention First Act, which would expand Medicaid's family planning services, mandate that hospitals make emergency contraception available to victims of sexual assaults, and require that federally funded sex education programs disclose the health benefits and failure rates of contraception. In an interview earlier this month with the Christian magazine Relevant, Obama said, "I think we know that abortions rise when unwanted pregnancies rise. So, if we are continuing what has been a promising trend in the reduction of teen pregnancies, through education and abstinence education giving good information to teenagers, that is important -- emphasizing the sacredness of sexual behavior to our children. I think that's something that we can encourage."

According to Medill News Service/The Politico, talking about both the "sacredness" of sexuality and an opposition to overturning Roe v. Wade "comes easily to members of the spiritual left." Matthew Davis Fox -- a 30-year-old recently ordained minister at All Souls Bethlehem Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the northeast regional field organizer for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice -- said he describes himself as an evangelical and considers keeping abortion legal a moral issue. "It's not the liberty of doing whatever you want, it's the liberty of coming to the decision of your own sacred conscience," Fox said, adding, "A very big important part of that is distinguishing what religious people might think is right or wrong, and what the law is going to decide is legal or illegal."

Emily Goodstein, a 25-year-old reform Jew who serves as president of Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom, said her group is trying to "creat[e] a space to talk about shared values." She said that the organization's bumper sticker -- "Pro Faith. Pro Family. Pro Choice." -- is a message that resonates with a diverse group that feels religion has been "co-opted by the right." Goodstein said, "The most common response is a feeling of excitement and surprise because it's rare that people see a faith-positive frame on these issues."

Medill News Service/The Politico reports that for "all the affinity of liberal religious groups for Obama, there is also the potential for backlash from both the right and left." James Dobson of Focus on the Family recently said that Obama is "deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his confused theology." Some experts also said Obama risks "alienating the left" by reaching out to religious voters, according to Medill News Service/The Politico. "It's going to make people nervous the more he incorporates religious values in his campaign pitches," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said, adding, "He's kind of co-opting the language that more commonly has been used by the right and that will make the left very nervous" (Tenety, Medill News Service/The Politico, 7/16).

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