TUESDAY, MAY 17 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE C9
Monique Moultrie, an associ-
ate professor of Africana Studies
and Religious Studies at Georgia
State University, who is examin-
ing the intersection of abortion
and faith, has interviewed doz-
ens of Black women in North
Carolina who have had abor-
tions. Most reported that their
pastors had never addressed the
issue, she says. They knew God
loved them, she says, but also
“they knew what they did was a
sin.... G od would not be pleased
with it.”
Many Black churches are led
by men who feel ill-equipped to
speak on abortion even if they
personally disagree with it, says
Pastor Earle J. Fisher of Abyssini-
an Missionary Baptist Church indate Rev. Raphael G. Warnock
proclaimed that he was a “pro-
choice pastor.” More than two
dozen church leaders asked him
to reconsider his “grave errors of
judgment and a lapse in pastoral
responsibility” while also prais-
ing his “efforts to share Christ
while pursuing political solu-
tions to our most pressing prob-
lems today.” Warnock has not
backed down.predominantly White churches.
They were also more likely to be
sermonized about voting, pro-
testing and political engagement
than those who attended pre-
dominantly White churches.
Even when staunchly anti-
abortion Black clergy have pub-
licly called out those who dis-
agree with them, they’ve done so
gently. During the 2020 Georgia
U.S. Senate runoff then-candi-Memphis. So the topic remains
out of sight in many congrega-
tions, says Fisher, who is a mem-
ber of Planned Parenthood’s
Clergy Advocacy Board.
Most women who confide in
him about an abortion do it
months or years later, he says.
“Guilt and shame are still hang-
ing on their head.”
When K.J. became pregnant
when she was about 22 years old,
she didn’t tell anyone at her
predominantly Black conserva-
tive church. She had already felt
judged when fellow congregants
learned she had had sex outside
of marriage, says K.J., who spoke
on the condition that only her
initials be used for privacy rea-
sons. Abortion had never been a
frequent topic in church ser-
mons, but the opposition was
implied if not stated explicitly.
She was distraught about anyone
finding out but went ahead with
an abortion.
Twenty years later, she has still
told just a few family members.
“They’re going to talk about it but
still feel the same way — that it’s
murder,” she says. “It’s not going
to change anyone’s opinion.”
Roberts Henley says her ap-
proach to counseling women on
abortion reflects her own evolu-
tion on the issue.
She remembers one pregnant
14-year-old girl who wanted to
have an abortion but whose fam-
ily persuaded her against it by
citing the Bible. The promised
family help came less often than
she expected, causing further
stress and limitations to her
young adulthood with mother-
hood as her new focal point.
Roberts Henley says she stayed
neutral when counseling the
teenager but watched her strug-
gle afterward.
“I grew up in the Black church,
and we were always taught that
murder is a sin, period. For a long
time, I viewed it specifically as
that,” she says. But as she grew
up, “I realized that people have to
make a choice that’s best for their
life dependent upon what the
situation and scenario is. That is
how I became more open to
people having the right to choose
for themselves.”Sarah Pulliam Bailey contributed to
this report.says. He’s concerned that desper-
ation will lead Black women to
seek unsafe abortions.
In his draft opinion, Justice
Samuel A. Alito Jr. has also made
race an issue. “It is beyond dis-
pute that Roe has had that demo-
graphic effect,” the draft stated.
“Some such supporters have
been motivated by a desire to
suppress the size of the African
American population.” He also
cited an opinion written by Jus-
tice Clarence Thomas in the 2019
case Box v. Planned Parenthood
of Indiana and Kentucky, It is in
the state’s “compelling interest in
preventing abortion from be-
coming a tool of modern-day
eugenics” Thomas argued.
“He’s being intellectually dis-
honest,” the Rev. William H.
Lamar IV of D.C.’s Metropolitan
African Methodist Episcopal
Church says of Alito’s draft opin-
ion. “They don’t care about Black
babies. You can’t care about
Black babies and gut pre-clear-
ance in the Voting Rights Act.”
Black churchgoers, of course,
are not a monolith. Black Protes-
tants (66 percent) were more
likely than Catholics overall (56
percent) or White evangelicals
(24 percent) to agree that abor-
tion should be legal in all or most
cases, according to a March 2022
survey conducted by Pew Re-
search Center.
Many Black church leaders
believe that there are other issues
more deeply impacting the day-
to-day lives of congregants.
“There are more pressing is-
sues in the Black community
than abortion. Why are our Black
children still being murdered by
police? Why are HBCUs still not
being funded by the government
the same way White schools are?
I think we are logical enough to
realize that if we spend too much
time on stuff like this.... This is
just a distraction,” says Pastor
Lynntesha Roberts Henley of
Cherry Street African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Dothan, Ala.
But on the issue of abortion,
Black church leaders have been
more mum. Only 22 percent of
Black congregants who attended
Black churches hear sermons
about abortion, according to a
2021 Pew Research Center sur-
vey, compared with 28 percent of
Black congregants who attendedas White women to die of preg-
nancy complications.
Even among those who oppose
abortion, the topic is fraught.
Research shows that Black pas-
tors are less likely to mention
abortion in their sermons than
White pastors of evangelical
churches, and opposition is often
more implied than stated direct-
ly.
We don’t “have a rule at our
church, that if you had an abor-
tion, you can get kicked out or
you’re condemned,” Sanders
says. “For me, it’s not as hard and
fast as that.”
She ultimately decided to
make only a glancing reference
to the pending court decision
during her Sunday service,
though she knew it would be on
many minds. “I don’t preach
politics,” she says. But she did
implore the congregation to
“help women to make good
choices about motherhood, to
make good choices about their
bodies, to make good choices
about their families.”
The divide reflects how these
constituencies, who may want
the same outcome, harbor differ-
ent visions on achieving it. While
Black churchgoers share reli-
gious values with White Chris-
tians, their racial identity, along
with historical distrust over is-
sues such as civil rights, has
made it more difficult to come
together, says the Rev. John Fils-
Aime, senior pastor at Central
Baptist Church on New York
City’s Upper West Side.
“There’s a lot that we share in
common,” Fils-Aime says. But
“evangelicalism in Black church-
es and evangelicalism in White
churches mean something differ-
ent.”
Reversing Roe v. Wade would
be a “hollow victory” if it isn’t
paired with more resources for
young mothers to address the
financial and health risks faced
by Black women, he says.
“People of means are still go-
ing to find a way to get rid of an
unwanted pregnancy. And for
those people in impoverished,
and communities of color, if
they’re desperate enough, they’re
still going to find a way to get rid
of an unwanted pregnancy,” he
BLACK CHURCHES FROM C1
In some Black churches, thoughts on abortion are complex
2014 PHOTO BY KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POSTABOVE: The Bible is
“absolutely pro-life, but not in a
political way,” says Cheryl
Sanders, senior pastor of D.C.’s
Third Street Church of God.
“It’s a theological perspective.”
LEFT: During his successful
campaign for a U.S. Senate seat
in Georgia, the Rev. R aphael G.
Warnock declared himself a
“pro-choice pastor.”MELINA MARA/THE WASHINGTON POSTWouldn’t it be great ifyour home had warninglights just like your car?Unfortunately, it doesn’t. And if you have an older roof, itmay need to be replaced before the next big storm ends up....FREE ESTIMATESCall Now! 8 77 -4 45 -LONGLongRoofing.com....in your home!n Best warranties in the industryn High performance asphalt shingles, metal & flat roofingn Awarded SELECT ShingleMaster Certification(earned by only 1% of U.S. roofers!)Long Roofing has been a trusted, local name since 1945.We can give you peace of mind and a storm-free interior!Licensed, Bonded, Insured. MHIC 51346, VA 2705048183A, DC 67006785
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