Benjamin Watson: What Church Leaders Need To Know About Abortion and Racial Justice

“Traditionally, the Black community has been very conservative on on these types of social issues. But the civil rights part of it is why many vote for Democrats.”

“I talk to white believers and they say, ‘Why do Black Christians vote for Democrats?’ and then talk to Black Christians, they’d be like, ‘I can’t believe these white people vote for these racist Republicans.’ There’s been such politicalization of issues that as believers should not be politicized.”

“From a constitutional perspective, [Roe] was egregiously decided in the first place. To find the right to an abortion in the 14th Amendment, which was a reconstruction amendment, took a lot of finagling…But then secondly, as a believer, someone who is is pro-life, someone who is pro-child and pro-woman, I believe at any time we can protect life, it’s important and we should do so.”

“I think that for the pro-life movement, now is a time to not only be refocused and re-energized, but kind of re-understand where our goal is. And our goal is not just Roe. Ultimately, the goal is to make abortion unthinkable…but also to make it unnecessary.”

“It’s time for us to reimagine what it’s going to take to make [abortion] unthinkable and unnecessary. Because as great as laws are, they aren’t going to change people seeking abortions.”

“On the state level, [supporting the pro-life cause is] supporting life-affirming legislation. It’s also about considering things like healthcare access—how do we increase those things? It’s also things like education. And when I say education, what I mean is specifically, even when it comes to a racial breakdown, that districts that are predominantly white, whether they are rich or poor, receive more funding than districts that are predominantly nonwhite, specifically Black Americans.”

“Personally, we have to try as much as we can to dig into some spaces that might be uncomfortable and be willing to maybe champion some issues that we may not have had before.”

“The first thing I would say to pastors is, to speak. And I don’t think we can take that for granted because recent research implies that many pastors are not speaking about this issue, at least not from the pulpit.”

“I believe that in this time that the church has to have a strong voice that is both loving and just.”