Liberal religion, contraception is forum topic

As part of Plan A, its nationwide campaign to foster access to safe and affordable contraception, the National Council of Jewish Women has been encouraging local communities to tackle the topics that stir controversy ”” like religion, emergency contraception, and insurance coverage.

Those will all be up for discussion on Wednesday evening, Oct. 10, at a forum sponsored by NCJW’s Union County Section, and hosted by Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains. The program is open to the community.

The speakers will include two religious leaders known for their willingness to engage in open debate: Beth Israel’s Rabbi George Nudell, who will discuss Jewish perspectives on birth control, and Rev. Geoffrey B. Curtiss of All Saints Episcopal Parish in Hoboken, who will offer a liberal Christian perspective….

Curtiss will represent the New Jersey Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the state branch of a national interfaith clergy association founded to defend the constitutional right to abortion.

Earlier this year, Curtiss was one of the RCRC experts who developed “In Good Conscience: Guidelines for the Ethical Provision of Health Care in a Pluralistic Society.” The guidelines were in part a rebuttal to what it called “sectarian restrictions imposed on health care,” including the Catholic Church’s directives banning abortion services at Catholic healthcare institutions.

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Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Culture-Watch, Episcopal Church (TEC), Life Ethics

7 comments on “Liberal religion, contraception is forum topic

  1. Wilfred says:

    This is funny. A liberal Jew will “debate” a liberal Episcopalian. About what? Maybe they need a liberal Unitarian there too, you know, for diversity.

    Judaism faces serious long-term problems, from:

    1. Moslems who hate Jews & want to kill them.
    2. Christians who love Jews & want to marry them.
    3. Liberal Jews like these who want to abort or contracept the next generation.

    And the most serious threat by far is #3.

  2. Rick in Louisiana says:

    TEC’s association with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (code for “abortion”) is unfortunate. Even more unfortunate is when advocates of “choice” – like Curtiss – would deny Catholic hospitals the um… choice… not to do abortions. I seem to recall a popular refrain about “what starts as ‘optional’ quickly becomes ‘mandatory'”. You want abortion rights? Okay. Fair enough. But geez you wanna force people who think it is abhorrent to do/perform/provide it?

    How does Curtiss feel about taxes paying for certain activities of the United States government?

    And then the tired rubbish about:

    [blockquote]”The Church for too long has been dominated by a patriarchal understanding of God and the creation in which we live, move, and have our being; this understanding diminishes the role of women and treats women and their issues with a subservient perspective,” said Curtiss in a written statement addressing his participation on the panel. “This world view is changing and we are discovering one that honors women, their bodies, and their selves.”[/blockquote]

    Not complete rubbish. But still. And how that justifies Curtiss’ agenda…

  3. Rolling Eyes says:

    “The Church for too long has been dominated by a patriarchal understanding of God and the creation in which we live, move, and have our being; this understanding diminishes the role of women and treats women and their issues with a subservient perspective,”

    Yeah…all that veneration of Mary is just plain MEAN!

  4. Jody+ says:

    Yes RE, it was mean. Don’t you know that you can only love yourself and women when you venerate Lilith instead?

    What a rehabilitation that demon has undergone…

  5. Jody+ says:

    Oh.. and just a note. It’s fitting that the radical feminist and the pro-abortion lobby would find Lilith such a stirring example…seeing as how the was said to kill children and all…

  6. William Scott says:

    Havea look at the last video on this list, ‘The Feminist Case Against Abortion’. There is more than one way to honor a body!

    http://www.theapologiaproject.org/video_library.htm

  7. Chris Molter says:

    [blockquote]Yeah…all that veneration of Mary is just plain MEAN! [/blockquote]
    yeah, well, we only venerate Mary because she’s ever-virgin, not a whore like all those OTHER women who have sex and have the temerity to LIKE it! I mean, obviously we benighted Catholics HATE sex. Which is why we.. um.. don’t use contraceptives.. and have lots of babies… wait, what was I arguing about again?