How Do We Talk About Abortion? : A Feminist Pastoral Theology

In recent years, the repeal of Roe vs Wade in the United States and a number of high-profile cases in the UK have ignited intense public debates surrounding the sensitive issue of abortion. While the Pro-Life movement, often driven by religious convictions from Roman Catholic and conservative perspectives, has made its stance clear, other Christian arguments in favour of abortion have been notably less pronounced, frequently emphasizing exceptional circumstances.

Emma Percy steps into this important conversation, offering a thought-provoking pastoral theology that takes a deeply empathetic approach to pregnancy and motherhood. In How Do We Talk About Abortion? she delves into the complex motivations behind women''s decisions to terminate pregnancies, treating this topic with the gravity it deserves. Percy considers abortion as a pastoral concern, recognizing how abortion decisions are shaped by circumstances and often not discussed, and how inherited Christian attitudes to women, sex and contraception can encourage silencing.

How Do We Talk About Abortion? situates abortion within the wider realities of infertility and reproductive loss, considers the question of prenatal testing in dialogue with disability theology, and explores God’s providence in the unfairness of human procreation. The final chapter turns to pastoral practice, the language of sin and the possibility of appropriate rituals.

 Carefully navigating the intricate intersection of faith, ethics, and reproductive choice, this new volume invites readers to reconsider preconceived notions and engage in a compassionate dialogue surrounding abortion and pregnancy loss from a Christian perspective that will move the discussion forward.

BLOGPOST: Talking pastorally about fertility and beyond by Emma Percy on the SCM Press blog here.