In the struggle for reproductive freedom, there are religious extremists at one end and liberal secularists at the other. Lost in this battle and often invisible to the public eye are the religious leaders and institutions that have worked in favor of protecting reproductive rights.
In Sacred Work, Tom Davis brings to light the ways in which the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a leading reproductive rights organization, and the clergy are not as incongruent as they often are construed to be. Although clergy supporters of choice are rarely, if ever, given attention in the media, Davis shows that they in fact play a major role in advancing women’s rights, rebutting right wing arguments, and helping to make (and keep) abortion legal nationwide.
Beginning with Margaret Sanger’s efforts to include mainline clergy in the fight to provide information about contraceptives to the general public, Davis details the religious and historical dimensions of this long alliance up through current debates. Drawing on stories of real women and men who are struggling to be faithful in the face of genuine dilemmas, this book cuts through the politics and semantics that typically surround the issue of reproductive rights.
Read this great book for a new appreciation of how the 'sacred work of justice' includes the guarantee of reproductive choices for all women. Read it for its historical insights, for its timely observations, and for its unprecedented account of an alliance that continues to be a defining force of the pro-choice movement.
When it comes to abortion and family planning, we rarely hear about the deep, faith-filled commitment of family planners or the passion of clergy for women's moral journeys on the way to the clinic. Tom Davis' brilliant narrative is a compelling contribution to the overheated debate about faith and reproductive rights.
Provocative and engaging, Sacred Work presents a previously untold part of reproductive political history that deserves the attention of activists and scholars alike.
An extraordinary work. Carefully researched, cleary written, factually honest. Davis puts in proper spiritual context the supportive role of America's mainstream clergy in the struggle for women's reproductive freedom.
Margaret Sanger recruits the clergy
Building public acceptance, 1935-1957
The 1958 battle over New York City hospitals
Sacred work in Baltimore, 1961-1965
Victories in the sixties
Planned Parenthood and the clergy consultation on abortion, 1967-1973
The post-Roe era, 1973-1992
Deadly violence and the renewal of clergy support
The future of alliance
