Some Milwaukee faith leaders want abortion normalized. Others want more help available to women so they don't consider it.
It's well-known that vocal advocates on the abortion issue often are driven by religious beliefs — holding protests, running support programs for pregnant women, lobbying politicians to change the law.
And they are on both sides of the issue.
Major religious groups have markedly different teachings on abortion, and within those groups, followers may or may not agree with the teachings.
Last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and abortion became unavailable in Wisconsin, faith-based advocates marshaled resources and volunteers to take action.
A Jewish rabbi who has advocated for decades on abortion rights began looking into how to help women fund trips to get abortions out of state. A Lutheran pastor opposed to abortion who runs several pregnancy resource centers said it was the time for Christians to "step up to the plate" to support women and children in need.
Four local faith leaders at the time told the Journal Sentinel that they were committed to continuing their work undaunted.
Now, following the news that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin would begin offering abortions again this week, we reached out to them again about what the last year was like and whether Planned Parenthood's move changes the work they do.
While their core beliefs on abortion and approaches to the issue differ, all expressed concern for disadvantaged women and children for whom an unexpected pregnancy could pose challenges. Some spoke about better access to contraception and paid family leave, while others advocated for reducing the costs of birth and removing the sales tax on baby supplies.
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis: Plans to discuss next steps to move forward
Margulis is the chair of the Wisconsin Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. She organizes faith leaders to advocate for wider abortion access. Her Jewish faith teaches that life begins at birth.
"We are very pleased to know that people in Wisconsin are now again going to be able to access this much-needed health care," Margulis said.
The last year has been "very scary," she said, as people seeking abortions in Wisconsin have traveled to neighboring states where the procedure was available.
Initial hopes of helping women fund out-of-state trips for abortions never came to fruition, Margulis said.
But the coalition did partner with a Wisconsin-based group called POWERS, or Pregnancy Options Wisconsin: Education, Resources, & Support, Inc., to add a pastoral support hotline to its phone line. Now, when a woman seeking information about her pregnancy calls POWERS, she has the option of speaking to an on-call clergy member trained by the coalition.
More than a dozen faith leaders with the coalition have provided counseling through the hotline. The group also has been working to keep its members informed about the latest on abortion issues in Wisconsin and around the country, also sharing opportunities for advocacy.
Planned Parenthood's resumption of abortion services only returns to laws in place at the time of last year's Supreme Court decision. Abortion is banned 20 weeks after "probable fertilization."
"We’re not going to nirvana, we’re going back to where we were," Margulis said. "And where we were wasn't great."
The coalition isn't resting, Margulis said. She hopes members will meet soon with Planned Parenthood staff to discuss next steps.
The coalition also will continue its advocacy on issues such as access to contraception, family planning, paid family leave, child care and more.
"You need to have all those things in place, not just access to abortion care," Margulis said.
The Rev. Cindy Crane: Sees a move in the right direction
Crane is the director of the Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin. The office is the advocacy arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, or ELCA, in the state.
The church holds that abortion and contraception must be legally accessible. It also stresses the importance of life at all stages, and mitigating the factors that make it difficult to raise children, Crane said. The church also says that anyone considering having abortion should "take great care" to spiritually discern whether it is the right choice.
"It's a very broad statement that could encompass a lot of different belief systems," she said.
Planned Parenthood's decision to resume abortions is a move in the right direction, Crane said, adding, "It fits the spirit of the law in Wisconsin and fits the attitudes of what is probably the majority of the people."
The Wisconsin policy office doesn't typically advocate on abortion, instead choosing a handful of other social issues to focus its efforts on. But over the last year, Crane has noticed a "groundswell" of local ELCA pastors who feel passionately about making abortion more accessible.
It aligns with the church's goal of caring for disadvantaged populations, Crane said.
It's "really moving us in a direction of caring more for people in poverty and people of color who are disproportionately impacted," she said.
The Rev. Robert Fleischmann: Wants to make abortion a woman's last option
Fleischmann is the national director of Christian Life Resources, an agency affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, or WELS.
The church, headquartered in Waukesha, is opposed to abortion. Fleischmann sees Planned Parenthood's decision to resume abortions as the latest development in a decades-long legal fight over the issue.
"It's not a surprise, but it is disappointing," Fleischmann said.
Christian Life Resources operates pregnancy resource centers around the country, including four in Wisconsin, as well as a home for single mothers and their children in Milwaukee.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, one of the agency's resource centers in Michigan was vandalized, and a center in Arizona received threats, Fleischmann said.
The agency has focused on helping women over the last year instead of activism, he said. Staff provides clothes, diapers and baby food to those in need, and talks to them about faith.
"We could sit in the bleachers and we can condemn the Dane County judge and we can condemn Planned Parenthood, condemn the governor," Fleischmann said. "But quite honestly that's low-hanging fruit. We would much rather be a force of good."
The agency is also creating materials to equip WELS congregations to better help single mothers with children and poor families. The goal is to start programs in churches to provide support and resources to pregnant women in need.
"When you look at all the choices you have when you face an unplanned pregnancy, we want to make abortion the last option on your list," Fleischmann said.
Deacon Jim Matthias: Won't despair because of trust in God
Matthias is the director of the Respect Life Ministry at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He works with local parishes to support pregnancy centers and maternity homes and organizes prayer and educational events as well as a program from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that provides resources to pregnant women called "Walking with Moms in Need." The Catholic Church opposes abortion.
An archdiocese spokeswoman declined an interview on behalf of Matthias but emailed responses to a reporter's questions.
On his reaction to the news that Planned Parenthood is resuming abortions, Matthias said via email: “It was very disheartening considering the millions of innocent lives that have already been lost to abortion, and now many more will be."
The ministry's support for mothers and babies "has increased over the past year and some parishes have also started local ministries providing baby supplies and help for new moms," he said.
Matthias said Catholic faithful will continue to pray for an end to abortion, including outside Planned Parenthood locations.
"We knew the battle would come to the state level, but we won’t despair because we have hope and trust in God," he said.
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference, the policy voice of the state's bishops, said in a statement that Planned Parenthood's decision was "a real step backward for human rights," and that "taking a human life is not health care."
The conference said it would continue to advocate for expanding postpartum care, reducing the cost of birth, removing the sales tax on feminine hygiene products and baby supplies, funding pregnancy centers and more.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin religious leaders respond to Planned Parenthood abortions
