MSNBC guest reverend tells ‘Morning Joe’ abortion is ‘not a biblical topic’
Reverend Dr. Serene Jones says that there are ‘one or two’ references to abortion that prioritize the life of the mother over the fetus.
An MSNBC guest reverend vocal about her disagreement with the recent Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade said Friday on "Morning Joe" that abortion is not a "biblical topic."
During a conversation with faith leaders supportive of abortion rights, co-host Mika Brzezinski asked Reverend Dr. Selene Jones about the SCOTUS decision and whether the Bible is being used "incorrectly" to curb abortion access.
Jones, who also serves as the president of the Union Theological Seminary, told Brzezinski that abortion is "not a biblical topic" and claimed there are only "one or two" biblical references to abortion that undoubtedly prioritize the "life and agency" of the mother over a fetus.
"To turn around and act as if the Bible has a mandate that is anti-choice when the Bible on every page is affirming the agency of people and the care of the vulnerable, the poor, the orphan, the woman at every turn," Jones said.
Abortion-rights protesters gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, June 24, 2022. The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years, a decision by its conservative majority to overturn the court's landmark abortion cases.? ((AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana))
The reverend noted that 50 years ago the Southern Baptist Convention, which she said is now "100% anti-choice," came out with multiple platforms affirming women’s privacy and said that the state should not have a role in women’s pregnancy decisions.
Jones, alongside another reverend, Fred Davie, wrote an opinion piece published in The Hill in May that asserted overturning Roe threatened LGBTQ+ rights, and served as a rallying cry for faith leaders to defend them.
Earlier in the segment, Jones said that the Supreme Court ruling was about a "small minority" imposing their views on others.
"It runs directly against religious freedom," she added.
Supreme Court Police officers erect a barrier between anti-abortion and pro-abortion rights protesters outside the court building, ahead of arguments in the Mississippi abortion rights case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Reverend Jennifer Butler, who shared the segment with Jones, chimed into the conversation by stating that religious freedom is now being used as a "weapon" by the Supreme Court in order to "discriminate against others."
The segment did not include any faith leaders who were pro-life.
The complete and staunch support for abortion among the MSNBC panel of faith leaders is notable given the breakdown of opinions on abortion among religious Americans.
According to Pew research, less than half of Catholic’s believe abortion should be legal in most cases. Meanwhile, 47% believe it should be illegal in most cases.
WHY DEMOCRATS ARE NOT PURSUING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT FOR ABORTION RIGHTS
President Biden speaks before signing into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Furthermore, only 33% of evangelical protestants agree that abortion should be legal in most cases, while 63% think it should be illegal.
Generally Christians are close to a split on the legality of abortion, with 53% saying it should be legal while 45% said it should be illegal.
Two weeks after SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden signed an executive order on abortion access Friday.
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