A Christian Pro-Choice Perspective

The following discussion arose in response to a WMST-L query in
April 2003 concerning pro-choice arguments from a Christian
perspective.  For additional WMST-L files available on the Web,
see the WMST-L File Collection.

One of my students would like to research pro-choice arguments from a
Christian perspective.  I've recommended Sollinger's *Abortion Wars*
and Ginsberg's *Contested Lives,* but I'd like in particular some
moral/ethical perspectives that arise out of Christian theology and
philosophy.  I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Anya Silver

*******************************************
Dr. Anya Krugovoy Silver
Assistant Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies
Mercer University
1400 Coleman Ave.
Macon, GA 31207-0001
silver_ak  AT  mercer.edu

"Either you know the reason you're alive
     or nothing makes any difference."
                           --Anton Chekhov

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice should have a lot of
information.  It can be found at:

http://www.rcrc.org/


Elaine Blakemore
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Department of Psychology
Indiana - Purdue University
Fort Wayne, IN 46805

Blakemor  AT  ipfw.edu

http://users.ipfw.edu/blakemor/blakemor.htm

> One of my students would like to research pro-choice arguments from a
> Christian perspective.

I'd suggest Mensch and Freeman, _The Politics of Virtue: Is Abortion
Debatable?_ as a starting place.  They survey quite a bit of theological
argumentation on both sides of the debate.

Best,

Jenny

_________________________________________________
Dr Jennifer Saul
Department of Philosophy
University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TN

E-mail: j.saul  AT  sheffield.ac.uk

An excellent text is

Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion, by Beverly
Wildung Harrison (a feminist christian ethicist)

I heartily recommend _Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and
Abortion in Ten World Religions_ by Daniel C. Maguire (Fortress Press,
Mpls)2001. This book is an excellent survey of different religious
views about abortion and the author, a professor of Theology,
convincingly dispels the myth that all religions oppose choice. In
fact, on the contrary, many have rich pro-choice (and
pro-contraception) traditions.

Good Luck!

Krista
**************************************************
Krista Jacob, editor and founder
www.sexingthepolitical.com
Editor, Our Choices, Our Lives: Unapologetic Writings on Abortion

There is a really good article by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott on this subject
called "Reproductive Choice:  Basic to Justice for Women" that was published
in the Christian Scholars Review in 1988 or 1989 (sorry I don't have the
complete cite).

Linda Beail
Point Loma Nazarene University

I highly recommend Kathy Rudy's *Beyond Pro-Life and Pro-Choice: Moral
Diversity in the Abortion Debate*, especially her chapter on "Christianity
and the Abortion Wars."

Laurie Shrage
 Professor, Philosophy Department
 California State Polytechnic University
 Pomona, CA 91768
 ljshrage  AT  csupomona.edu
 http://www.csupomona.edu/~ljshrage/
 Co-Editor, Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy
 http://www.csupomona.edu/~hypatia