July 18: Does religious belief actually have a strong relationship with abortion?

Abortion has always been a controversial topic. Recently, the US Supreme Court has just overturned Roe v. Wade, and President Biden signed an executive order against it. Thus, there is no better time to discuss the topic of abortion from a variety of perspectives than now! This week our Coordinator, Yolanda Liu, will be leading a seminar and discussion on the topic of abortion and religion. As much as the answer may seem straightforward, after examining a variety of studies, Yolanda suggests that that is not necessarily.

When Governor Greg Abbott signed Texas law S.B.8, he offered an oft-heard reason for the Lone Star State to ban nearly all abortions effectively: "Our creator endowed us with the right to life" (Percival, 2021). Therefore, some scholars argue religious belief significantly influences people's attitudes toward abortion (Fleck, 1970). However, A study comparing Catholics and Non-Catholics found no significant difference in people's perceptions of religious teachings concerning abortion; instead, the way to define the beginning of life is the main point for differing people's choices of abortion or not (Williams, 1982). In this part, the significance of the religion-abortion relationship will be discussed.

The prompts for this forum are: 

1. Is religion an excuse or a justifiable reason in terms of abortion laws? 
2. Is the revision of abortion law most likely to be a matter of medical care or deterioration of feminism? 
3. To what extent should the country adapt its law according to the religion? 
4. When satisfying the demand of any single religion, is that mean to be offensive of other religions? If yes, what is the consequence following such a decision? If no, please show some examples. 
5. Case: A pregnant woman got a ticket for driving in the HOV lane in Texas. She says her fetus was her passenger, and thus she should be exempt from the ticket.  Question: Should traffic laws relating to pregnancy be reconsidered due to the revision in abortion law? 

Join us on July 18th!

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