We are an alliance of organizers, religious leaders, academics, and congregations working together to advance the cause of reproductive justice through congregational designation and community building programs.
Greetings beloveds,
It has been an agonizing month, and for some much longer. When the devastating events of October 7th first occurred SACReD leaned into our values and tended to our beloved community. We spent time reaching into our partners and those directly impacted to listen and to learn how we could best support them. We are a multi-faith alliance committed to Reproductive Justice for all. We reached in to two of our directly impacted partners and invited them to collaborate with us in crafting a statement, which you’ll find below. Working in coalition takes deep grace and compassion when faced with differences in lived experiences and beliefs, however, we know that collective action and care is what will see us through. We are deeply thankful to National Council of Jewish Women and HEART for saying yes to this process with us and we pray that we can continue to find our way forward together.
In Faith,
The SACReD Team
November 8, 2023
Part of the reason Roe fell was because the broader repro movement has lacked a comprehensive faith strategy. The fall of Roe is not solely a political problem, and it cannot have solely a political solution. People of faith have been active with clear strategies and tactics for a long time. We are essential to changing the cultural, political, and practical realities of our reproductive lives in this country.
We are grounded in the principles of our religious traditions, such as imago dei (Image of God), kujichagulia (Self-Determination), pikuach nefesh (To Save a Life). In order for true Reproductive Justice to be achieved, we need a unified reproductive and faith strategy, which is why we are in relationship with these partners, along with individual congregations and communities to turn the tide.
Join all of us as we amplify the efforts of people of faith to shift the culture around reproductive access.
Faith Community Leaders Issue Statement Condemning Dobbs Decision, Abortion Access a “Moral and Social Good”
June 24, 2022
WASHINGTON D.C.—We at SACReD believe that affordable access to all forms of reproductive healthcare, including abortion, is a moral and social good that enables equality and the well-being of all people.
Conversely, state bans on abortion amount to forced gestation and birth and are, therefore, morally barbaric. Such laws, which the Dobbs ruling will now allow to proliferate, violate the most basic human rights to bodily autonomy, reproductive dignity, and moral agency.
Further, the bans’ disproportionate burdens on Black people and other people of color call to mind historical atrocities committed against enslaved and other colonized women.
SACReD is working to engage in faith-based culture change to empower congregations to become loving, justice-seeking faith communities that fully support the fulfillment of reproductive moral agency and flourishing for all – join us!
Angela Tyler-Williams, SACReD’s Co-Director for Movement Building issued the following statement:
“Let us be clear, abortion access is a moral and social good. People of all faiths and no faith have abortions. This decision inflicts immeasurable harm on persons who are, or may become pregnant throughout the United States, for no reason other than personal political preference.”
“To those with moral concerns about abortion, we point out that male fertilization does not equal procreation. Rather, conception is only the beginning of a long procreative process. Women and others with the capacity to gestate need liberation from patriarchal theologies that erase and devalue their enormous role, and necessary consent, in matters of reproduction.”
Action Items
Here are 5 ways to take action right now.
- Sign on to the SACReD Affirmations
- Follow SACReD on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
- Donate to local abortion funds
- Donate to woman of color-led reproductive justice groups like SisterSong and SisterReach
- Organize your faith community
Take a deep breath – this is deep work, and we need you for the long haul.