{"id":252172,"date":"2021-08-31T14:34:45","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T19:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=252172"},"modified":"2021-08-31T14:46:29","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T19:46:29","slug":"texas-pro-abortion-pastors-social-moral-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/texas-pro-abortion-pastors-social-moral-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas pro-abortion group trains pastors to promote abortion as a ‘moral and social good’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A group of churches in Texas has banded together to proclaim killing preborn children a \u201cmoral and social good,\u201d according to <\/span>The Dallas Morning News<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an August 25th press conference held at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, abortion activist faith group Just Texas announced an initiative called the \u201cReproductive Freedom Congregations,\u201d a designation to be granted to other abortion-promoting churches in the area, according to a <\/span>Facebook post<\/span><\/a> of the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The announcement was made the week prior to the date set for enactment of Texas\u2019 pro-life bill SB8, also known as the <\/span>Texas Heartbeat Act<\/span><\/a>. The bill, which prohibits abortions after a heartbeat is detectable, usually around six weeks gestation (though the heart begins to beat around 16 to 22 days after fertilization) has <\/span>alarmed<\/span><\/a> abortion activists<\/span><\/a> for its grounding in civil law rather than criminal law, allowing private citizens to sue abortionists who violate the law and making it difficult for abortion advocates to challenge in court.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:<\/strong>\u00a0Planned Parenthood announces new clergy advocacy board members<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Just Texas is an all-woman organization aimed at combating the \u201cdominant religious narrative\u201d which claims \u201cpeople of faith do not \u2026 support reproductive freedom,\u201d according to their <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>. The organization hopes to organize people of faith to be abortion activists, arguing that faith can be the basis and support for their activism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a congregation we have a long history of working with reproductive rights. Women at our church started Roe v. Wade along with staff from the local Planned Parenthood at the time, so when we entered into dialogue about being the first recipient of the reproductive rights congregation in Texas there was a lot of history behind it,\u201d said Rev. Dr. Daniel Kanter<\/a> of his Unitarian church.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The group\u2019s premise is a supposed religious <\/span>argument<\/span><\/a> in favor of abortion \u2014 the likes of which has been previously debunked by <\/span>Live Action News<\/span><\/a>. \u201cI am on a quest, we are on a quest, to take God back from the hostage situation that the conservatives have hijacked, and I absolutely feel that the God that I believe in, the God that I serve, called by many names, and no name at all, trusts and respects women,\u201d said Rev. Erika Forbes<\/a>, a Just Texas outreach manager, according to The Dallas Morning News.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To receive the Reproductive Freedom Congregation designation, churches must vote to affirm legal abortion as a positive moral good in society. \u201cYou affirm that you trust and respect women, you promise that people that attend your congregation will be free from stigma, shame, and judgment for their reproductive decisions including abortion, and that you believe access to comprehensive, affordable health services is a moral and social good,\u201d said Forbes, according to The Dallas Morning News. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pastors will also receive weeks of training to learn how to promote abortion from the pulpit<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Live Action <\/span>investigations<\/span><\/a> have shown that legalized abortion has created social incentives that inflict grave harm on vulnerable individuals, such as enabling child sexual predators to cover up their crimes. Despite being required by law to report suspected abuse and trafficking, abortionists have committed abortions on girls as young as 12 years old, and then returned victims back to their abusers without reporting abuse to competent authorities. <\/span><\/p>\n

The investigative findings <\/span>draw from<\/span><\/a> court cases, including victims\u2019 testimonies, state health department records, testimonies from former abortion industry workers, two undercover investigations, and a Loyola University study on sex trafficking.<\/span><\/p>\n