Clergy Gather in Albany to Urge Passage of Reproductive Health Act (S.5808) in Meetings with Lawmakers

ALBANY, NY (04/21/2010)(readMedia)-- Clergy from around the state gathered in Albany today to discuss with lawmakers the need to update New York's abortion laws by passing the Reproductive Health Act (RHA). In urging passage of RHA, members of Concerned Clergy for Choice and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice shared with lawmakers their pastoral experiences in counseling women and families in making medical decisions.

Religious leaders from a wide spectrum of faiths and denominations support RHA

New York became one of the first states to legalize abortion in 1970, three years before the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade. The law, groundbreaking at the time, brought reduced maternal morbidity and mortality. However, under the current erosion of women's reproductive health care laws, New York's laws need to be strengthened to protect a woman's well being and access to comprehensive reproductive health care through RHA, and clergy are critical allies in this effort.

Specifically, RHA will:

• remove the regulation of abortion care from the state's penal code and place it in the public health code where all other health care services are regulated;
• provide a health exception should a woman's health be endangered during her pregnancy, which is not already provided for in New York's law; and
• enable a woman to choose or refuse contraception.

Clergy come to respect and understand health care through their pastoral work

"Religious leaders devote countless hours to providing support and strength to women and families confronted by challenging medical situations," said Rabbi Dennis S. Ross, director of Concerned Clergy for Choice. "Our pastoral care experience demonstrates that the laws of New York State must protect people in these vulnerable moments – the women and those who care for them. Doctors and nurses are God's agents of healing and comfort. The Reproductive Health Act will safeguard the well being of women and their health providers in a time of medical need."

"God gave women and men the responsibility to direct their own lives, including the capacity to decide when the time is right for them to bear children. That is what we mean when we speak about the 'moral agency' of women," said The Rev. Dr. Carlton W. Veazey, president of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a national organization composed of many religious groups supporting access to reproductive medicine including contraception and abortion care. "The Reproductive Health Act is essential because it will protect patients and doctors and their exercise of religious freedom and conscience."

Health care providers demonstrate support for Reproductive Health Act

In addressing clergy from the physician's perspective, Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president of medical affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, discussed threats at the federal level to women's reproductive health care and the need to update this state's 40-year-old law.

"Health care providers cannot give the best counsel and treatment from a position of fear," said Cullins, an obstetrician/gynecologist. "From my experience, every situation is different for patients in need of abortion care and often very complex. Health care providers in New York need the assurance of knowing that all reproductive health care is regulated in the public health code--not in the penal code--and that abortion care is accessible to women whose health is in danger."

"Patients, in consultation with physicians and trusted others, should be the only ones to make their health care decisions. Passage of the Reproductive Health Act will assure that," she asserted.

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Concerned Clergy for Choice of the Education Fund of Family Planning Advocates is a statewide, multi-faith network of 1000 religious leaders supporting access to reproductive medicine, including contraception and abortion care. www.edfundfpa.org/clergy

Family Planning Advocates of New York State is a non-profit, statewide organization dedicated to protecting and expanding access to a full range of reproductive health care services. It represents New York's Planned Parenthood affiliates and other family planning centers, as well as hundreds of organizations and thousands of individual members. www.fpaofnys.org

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice brings the moral power of religious communities from around the nation to ensure reproductive choice through education and advocacy. www.rcrc.org

Planned Parenthood is the nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate. Its affiliates operate more than 840 health centers nationwide. www.ppfa.org