Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) was founded in 1973 by clergy and lay leaders from mainline denominations and faith traditions to provide interfaith support for the new constitutional right to privacy in decisions about abortion. In 1993, the original name - the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR) - was changed to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice to reflect the expansion of the coalition's work.

Today, the Religious Coalition comprises national organizations from major faiths and traditions and religiously affiliated and independent religious organizations, state affiliates and networks throughout the country, the national Clergy for Choice network, Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom, The National Black Church Initiative, La Iniciativa Latina and individuals who support reproductive choice and religious freedom. RCRC has an active presence on Capitol Hill, working for policies to ensure reproductive health services are available to all, regardless of income, and to strengthen reproductive justice.

RCRC member organizations are religiously and theologically diverse, but are unified in the commitment to preserve reproductive options as a basic part of religious liberty. They hold that individuals must be free to make reproductive decisions according to their own faith and conscience, without government coercion.

RCRC looks beyond the abortion debate to seek solutions to pressing problems such as unintended pregnancy, the spread of HIV/AIDS, inadequate health care and health insurance, and the reduction in reproductive health care services. RCRC supports access to comprehensive sexuality education, family planning and contraception, affordable child care and health care, and adoption services as well as safe, legal, abortion services, regardless of income. The Coalition pursues a reproductive justice agenda, supporting policies to ensure that the medical, economic, and educational resources are available for healthy families and communities that are equipped to nurture children in peace and love.

Leadership

• President and CEO: The Reverend Carlton W. Veazey
• Chair of the Board: Dean Alton Pollard, Howard University School of Divinity
• Chair of the Council of Governors, Linda Bales Todd, General Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church

State affiliates

The state affiliates and state networks of the Religious Coalition are involved in advocacy, education, community service, and implementing RCRC programs such as Clergy for Choice, All Options Clergy Counseling, and Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom at the community and state level.

Member organizations

• Rabbinical Assembly
• United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
• Women's League for Conservative Judaism
• The Episcopal Church
• American Ethical Union National Service Conference
• Society for Humanistic Judaism
• Presbyterian Church (USA) and Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options (PARO) of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
• Jewish Reconstructionalist Federation
• Reconstructionalist Rabbinical Association
• Central Conference of American Rabbis
• North American Federation of Temple Youth
• Women of Reform Judaism, The Federation of Temple Sisterhoods
• Women's Rabbinic Network of Central Conference of American Rabbis
• The United Church of Christ
• The General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church
• The General Board of Global Ministries, Women's Division of the United Methodist Church
• Unitarian Universalist Association
• Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation
• Young Religious Unitarian Universalists
• Continental Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network
• American Jewish Committee
• American Jewish Congress
• Anti-Defamation League
• Catholics for Choice
• Christian Lesbians Out (CLOUT)
• Church of the Brethren Women's Caucus
• Disciples for Choice
• Episcopal Urban Caucus
• Episcopal Women's Caucus
• Hadassah, WZOA
• Jewish Women International
• Lutheran Women's Caucus
• Methodist Federation for Social Action
• NA'AMAT USA
• National Council of Jewish Women
• Women's American ORT
• YWCA of the USA

History

Founding of RCRCIn the 1960s, clergy who counseled women concerned about an unintended pregnancy were increasingly horrified by the injury and death being suffered by women undergoing illegal abortions. They became convinced of their moral responsibility to help women with unwelcome pregnancies locate safe abortion providers. In 1967, Reverend Howard Moody and Arlene Carmen organized the first Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, at Judson Memorial Church in New York City. The service was a network of clergy who counseled women and identified safe abortion providers. Similar services developed throughout the country.

Simultaneously, Protestant denominations and other religious organizations were working to pass their own policies supporting decriminalization of abortion and collectively lobbying for decriminalization legislation. They were convinced that religious freedom required reproductive freedom. They consistently pointed out that where religions disagree, no one religious view should be legislated.

Even when the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the right to privacy encompassed a woman’s decision about abortion in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, denominations and faith groups that had worked so hard for legalization knew the struggle had not ended. They founded the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR) that year to provide interfaith support for women's right to choose abortion. The original intent was to focus primarily on abortion and the issue of separation of church and state.

Local affiliates were established in key states to block an anticipated constitutional amendment to counter the guarantees of the Roe v. Wade decision. However, the need for interfaith support for reproductive rights has continued and even intensified and RCRC has accordingly expanded.

1985—Women of Color Partnership Established

The Women of Color Partnership (WOCP) was formed to provide a vehicle through which women of color could become actively involved as decision-makers in the reproductive choice movement. The WOCP sought to identify and address reproductive health care concerns from the perspectives of women of color, thereby building a multicultural and anti-racist alliance.

1993—Mission Expanded

Largely at the urging of women of color and others who wanted a more inclusive agenda, the Coalition expanded its mission to reflect its commitment to all reproductive options, including sexuality education, access to affordable family planning, adequate health care, and other reproductive health concerns. To reflect the expanded mission, the name was changed to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Today, the Coalition pursues a reproductive justice agenda, supporting policies to ensure the medical, economic, and educational resources that make reproductive choice possible.

1996 – Coalition Programs Expanded

Growth has been rapid since 1996, when the National Black Church Initiative was launched. In 1998, two new departments were established—-Field Services (now Interfaith Outreach) and MultiCultural Programs. The same year, the Board of Directors established the Council of Governors, a body that extends the Coalition’s reach by expanding partnerships and collaborative opportunities. In 2000, the Coalition responded to the call for more religious involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention by beginning to work with South African churches. The Coalition’s program for youth and young adults, Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom, began in 2000 to reach out to the growing number of youth whose commitment to social justice is based on deeply held faith principles. An educational program with Latino churches, La Iniciativa Latina, was started in 2001. In 2002, Seminarians for Choice was launched nationally. The Coalition’s Public Policy Department began in 2007 to provide a dedicated focus on legislation and policy issues; its early projects included increasing interfaith support for comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education.

See also

• Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus

External links

• Religious Coalition of Reproductive Choice (official website)