Calling killing unborn babies “sacred work,” a group of clergy gathered Tuesday to bless an Austin, Texas abortion facility.
The Huffington Post reports the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and Texas Freedom Network organized the event at the Whole Woman’s Health, an abortion chain known for numerous health and safety violations.
“The first and foremost goal was to say that we support you and the work that you’re doing, especially in a state where you’re constantly having to meet new regulations or deal with critics and protesters,” Rev. Amelia Fulbright, a campus minister in Austin, told the news outlet.
She said they organized the “blessing” to encourage the patients as well as the abortion workers.
“As people of faith, it’s not that we think we’re bringing God to this place; we believe God is already present in that space,” Fulbright told the news outlet. “But it’s to ask for prayers of safety, healing and peace, to infuse the space with an energy that is life-giving for women, a lot of whom are in an anxious time.”
The Rev. Katey Zeh, executive director of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said they believe abortion is “sacred work.”
“The Whole Woman’s Health clinic in Austin is also a blessed space, not only because of our ritual of blessing on Tuesday but because providing reproductive health services has always been sacred work,” Zeh wrote at the Religion News Service.
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She said ten clergy representing Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Unitarian Universalists, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ and Reform and Reconstructionist Jews participated in the event.
For Fulbright, one of the most meaningful moments was nursing her infant child while “blessing” a place where so many others are aborted.
According to the report:
She said one of the most meaningful moments of the ceremony was when her 4-month-old baby became hungry. She said being able to nurse her child in that setting, surrounded by people who understood the importance of being able to choose motherhood, illustrated to her that abortion clinics are a “life-affirming space.”
“It paints a different picture than what the anti-abortion movement would like you to think happens in abortion clinics,” she said.
The pro-abortion clergy claimed they hold the moral high ground, saying they want to be compassionate to pregnant women who are struggling and that compassion means supporting the killing of unborn babies.
“Because our prophetic teachings emphasize caring for our neighbors, progressive faith communities are called to respond to pregnant people with compassion and affirmation,” Zeh said. “We know that making reproductive decisions can be hard work spiritually and emotionally, yet we believe God accepts the decisions of conscience each person makes.”
Unlike the small group, many religious leaders believe that abortions are wrong because they destroy a unique, innocent human being’s life. Judaeo-Christian beliefs teach that every human life is created in the image of God and is valuable. The Bible strongly condemns the shedding of innocent blood and the harming of children.
The Austin Chronicle reports Whole Women’s Health recently moved to a new location in Austin after pro-life advocates rented the building that they were using.
