T&T Clark Reader in Abortion and Religion: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives

This volume introduces students to the history of cultural and theological responses to abortion as background for understanding a diversity of ethical positions in contemporary Christian, Jewish, and Muslim writings. Politicized debates about abortion are often presented in terms of a binary rhetoric of prolife versus prochoice; however, this collection of essays shows how that binary often breaks down when abortion is seen from different religious perspectives and in light of the voices of women themselves. While abortion is a global phenomenon, this volume focuses on the U.S. context. American abortion politics and culture wars have been dominated by Christian voices; nevertheless, Jewish and Muslim abortion ethics engage many of the same issues from different cultural and religious perspectives. Finally, this volume presents important examples of recent social scientific studies about the relationship of religion and abortion in the diverse cultural, racial, and economic fabric of American society. Pedagogical features include: - Introduction to the subject matter by the editors - Introductory essays to all five parts of the book - Questions for classroom discussion Additional pedagogical materials can be found at: https://abortionreligionreader.com/

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION PART ONE – In Their Own Words Introduction to Part 1 ‘América Gonzalez’, So Many Lives at Stake Anonymous, In the Shade of Allah’s Mercy Kate Ott, Reproducing Justice CoWanda Rusk, Christ Was There for Me During My Abortion Rachael Pass, Lo Teivoshi, You Will Not Feel Ashamed ‘Alex’ (with Meera Shah), You’re the Only One I’ve Told PART TWO – Social Scientific Studies Introduction to Part 2 M. Antonia Biggs, et al., Understanding Why Women Seek Abortions Kate Cockrill and Adina Nack, ‘I’m Not That Type of Person’ Jennifer Kerns, et al., Women's Decision Making Regarding Choice of Second Trimester Termination Method for Pregnancy Complications Ellen Wiebe, et al., Muslim Women Having Abortions in Canada: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Experiences Elly Teman, et al., Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Women Navigating the Uncertainty of Pregnancy and Prenatal Diagnosis Robert P. Jones, et al., The State of Abortion and Contraception Attitudes in All 50 States John P. Bartkowski, et al., Faith, Race-Ethnicity, and Public Policy Preferences: Religious Schemas and Abortion Attitudes Among U.S. Latinos Bohsiu Wu and Aya Kimura Ida, Ethnic Diversity, Religion, and Opinions toward Legalizing Abortion: The Case of Asian Americans PART THREE – History and Context Introduction to Part 3 A. James Murphy, Undesired Offspring and Child Endangerment in Jewish Antiquity Beverly Wildung Harrison, Selected Early Catholic Teaching on Abortion Zubin Mistry, Imagining Abortivi in the Early Middle Ages Mohammed Ghaly, Pre-modern Islamic Medical Ethics and Graeco-Islamic-Jewish Embryology Ignacio Castuera, Abortion and Law in the High Middle Ages Kathryn Blanchard, Contraception in Protestant Theology Dorothy E. Roberts, Reproduction in Bondage Paul Saurette and Kelly Gordon, The AMA’s Crusade Against Abortion Loretta J. Ross, Reproductive Justice and Eugenics D. Marie Ralstin-Lewis, The Continuing Struggle against Genocide: Indigenous Women's Reproductive Rights PART FOUR – Religious Arguments about Abortion Introduction to Part 4 Judaism David Feldman, Abortion: The Jewish View David Kraemer, Jewish Ethics and Abortion Y. Michael Barilan, Her Pain Prevails and Her Judgement Respected--Abortion in Judaism Dena S. Davis, Abortion in Jewish Thought Christianity Norman Ford, The Human Embryo as Person in Catholic Teaching Jason T. Eberl, Aquinas’s Account of Human Embryogenesis and Recent Interpretations Roy Bowen Ward, The Use of the Bible in the Abortion Debate C. Ben Mitchell, The Value of Every Human Life Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, For the Life of The World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church Patricia Beattie Jung, Abortion and Organ Donation Rebecca Todd Peters, Motherhood as Moral Choice Margaret D. Kamitsuka, Contesting Abortion as Sin Toni Bond, A Womanist Theo-Ethic of Reproductive Justice Islam Kiarash Aramesh, Shiite Perspective on the Moral Status of the Early Human Embryo Abdulrahman Al-Matary & Jaffar Ali, Controversies and Considerations Regarding the Termination of Pregnancy for Foetal Anomalies in Islam Marion Holmes Katz, Sufi Ethics: Legal Rulings in Religious Context Sa’diyya Shaikh, Family Planning, Contraception and Abortion in Islam PART FIVE – Abortion and Religion in Public Life Introduction to Part 5 Doris Andrea Dirks and Patricia Relf, A History of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion: The Counselors Patricia Miller, The Battle Over Abortion in the Catholic Church Stacy A. Scaldo, Roe v. Wade: Setting the Stage for Pro-Choice Religion-Based Holdings Rachel Kranson, The Women's League for Conservative Judaism and the Politics of Abortion, 1970-1982 Aaron Winter, Mainstream, Militant and Extremist Anti-Abortion Activism Bryan M. Massingale, The Rhetoric of Slavery in the Pro-Life Discourse of U.S. Bishops Ziad Munson, Framing Choice: CPCS [Crisis Pregnancy Centers] and the Co-optation of Freedom Lori R. Freedman, et al., When There's a Heartbeat: Miscarriage Management in Catholic-owned Hospitals Bernard G. Prusak, Double Effect, All Over Again: The Case of Sister Margaret McBride Shyrissa Dobbins-Harris, The Myth of Abortion as Black Genocide Monique Moultrie, #BlackBabiesMatter: Analyzing Black Religious Media in Conservative and Progressive Evangelical Communities L. L.Wynn and Angel M. Foster, Muftis in the Matrix: Comparing Online English-and Arabic-Language Fatwas about Emergency Contraception Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Rebecca Todd Peters is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Poverty and Social Justice Program at Elon University, USA. Margaret D. Kamitsuka is Francis W. and Lydia L. Davis Professor Emeritus of Religion at Oberlin College, USA.

Review :
The anthology provides a detailed, scholarly, and entertaining overview of the relationship between abortion and religion in the US context. It is characterized by a variety of historical, sociological, and theological approaches and “ideological” perspectives that allow for a differentiated view of the phenomenon. Peters and Kamitsuka have produced this valuable text which provides an evidence-based overview of various social, political, legal and religious dimensions of abortion ... Excellent and well-documented. This is a thoughtful, wide-ranging introduction to some of the central literature on abortion in a diverse range of religious traditions. It presents a careful, scholarly, and deeply felt account of the complex and contradictory ethical appeals that surround one of the most fiercely debated issues in American political life. The authors and editors allow the reader to listen closely to a variety of arguments and to explore the terrain of the debate and its vast traditional and contemporary literature. I can think of no better guides. In this timely collection of essays—some new, some classic—feminist religious ethicists Margaret Kamitsuka and Rebecca Todd Peters expand Muslim, Jewish, and Christian ethics of pregnancy and its termination beyond the pages of religious texts to the lives of pregnant people as they unfold in very different historical, cultural, and religious settings. The stunning variety of disciplinary perspectives and the editors’ careful contextualizations make this rich volume indispensable for everyone who wants to reflect on religious responses to pregnancy and abortion in all of their moral complexity. Nuanced, focused, and wide-ranging, this volume could not have been put together at a better time or by more qualified editors. It is an essential tool for religious advocates and their allies in the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice. I will certainly use and teach it.