Monday, June 27, 2022
The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today’s announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is not unanticipated.
As we all know, this country has been engaged in a heated and decades-long debate on the issue of abortion between those who demand strict protections for fetuses and those who see restrictions of reproductive freedom as a violation of a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body.
As a society, we are pulled into positions that are starkly binary. As the lawn signs staked out on our roads indicate, we are asked to either “Stand with Planned Parenthood” or to “Kneel for the Unborn.”
The division among us is itself barren and has led to a stalemate and today’s decision, despite what it claims, will not settle the debate. Indeed, today’s opinion of the Supreme Court displays a refusal to listen deeply to ways abortions in this country have been significantly reduced in past decades and runs contrary to the position of citizens who desire equitable access to reproductive and gynecological heath care and the freedom it affords.
Theologically, I cannot help but point out that even Blessed Mary was given a choice whether or not to bear the Christ Child into this broken and sin-sick world. She could have said, “No, not me,” or “Not now.” Without that choice of response at the Annunciation, we would not venerate a saint, but a mindless automaton controlled by a God who refused to bestow her the dignity of liberty.
Is the Episcopal Church pro-life or pro-choice? The answer is unequivocally and boldly, “YES to both.” Does this settle a debate or a tension of how to live and move and make decisions in this life? The answer is, “Not so much.” Does that lead to faith, born out of prayer and life in community, “Yes, with God’s help.”
The failure of our society to find ways to allow real tensions in our positions, quite often held within the same person, represents an infidelity to the Gospel of Jesus, who was himself the fruit of the unforced choice of a woman and her trust that she would be cared for by an obedient and faithful spouse and a nurturing community.
I pray, more fervently today, that our government, our society, and our opinion makers will abandon the brutal either/or perspectives that imperil our communities and put more women and children at risk because of the inequitable access to health care in our nation.
I pray also that we all may be kept safe as we hear of threats by those who will take today’s decision as permission to cause harm by violence. Indeed, I need to share with you that we received the following from the Presiding Bishop’s office today:
“We have received information from federal authorities of credible security threats against clergy and churches around the potential release by the US Supreme Court of its abortion decision. There is concern that clergy who have advised parishioners about abortion access and their reproductive rights may face threats or violence.
The guidance we are hearing is for religious communities to encourage peaceful responses to the decision when it comes - in the days following the decision and also in weeks to come - while remaining vigilant about potential security threats.”
Please note that in the message we received above, there are no specifics about any state, including New Hampshire.
May the Spirit of God show us all a peaceful path forward in this and in all our struggles for truth and justice, not merely a compromise for the sake of an uneasy truce, but a means of comprehension that contains truth in all its complexity.
May we be led out of the brutality of our current division into a bold and confident grace. God knows that all our choices and positions are imperfect. And yet Jesus extended in arms of love on the cross on a Friday like today, so that all might come within the reach of his saving embrace.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
The Right Reverend A. Robert Hirschfeld
Bishop of New Hampshire