By Sarah Motter
Published: Jun. 14, 2024 at 9:16 PM CDT|Updated: 17 hours ago
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KCTV) - Faith leaders in Missouri and their legal team have vowed to continue to fight for women’s rights after a St. Louis judge denied the law violated the separation of church and state.
The legal team that represents 14 Missouri faith leaders who challenged the state’s abortion ban, announced on Friday, June 14, that it is set to discuss the next steps with its clients after an unfavorable ruling from St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision and will be discussing next steps with our faith leader clients. Missouri’s abortion ban is a direct attack on the separation of church and state, religious freedom, and reproductive freedom,” the legal team said. “Missouri lawmakers made clear that they were imposing their personal religious beliefs on all Missourians when they enacted these laws. We remain committed to restoring abortion access in Missouri.”
The faith leaders said they believe the ban is a violation of the separation between church and state. They believe religious and reproductive freedoms are both also at stake.
“Missouri’s abortion bans legislate a religious view of abortion that is entirely at odds with my religious beliefs and the reproductive counseling I’ve offered as a United Church of Christ minister,” said Rev. Jan Barnes, a retired member of the United Church of Christ. “I believe that God wants health and well-being for all people, which includes the ability for people to make the reproductive decisions that are best for them. When I’ve ministered to people contemplating abortions, I’ve explained that God supports individuals in making decisions for themselves about whether to have an abortion and that there is no biblical prohibition of abortion.”
Court records indicated that Sengheiser ruled the state’s ban does not violate the church-state provisions set forth in the Missouri Constitution. The move means that the plaintiffs cannot proceed in the circuit court, however, they have a right to appeal the ruling.
“My God is a God of choice. In the United Church of Christ, we believe that God intended people to have autonomy over their lives and bodies, and to have authority to make complex decisions, including whether to have an abortion,” said Rev. Traci Blackmon, United Church of Christ minister. “Missouri’s abortion bans are an unconscionable abuse of religion to oppress all Missourians. Legislators do not have the right to impose their faith on me or anyone else. They’re betraying the separation of church and state that has enabled the religious plurality we enjoy in our state and in our country.”
In June 2023, the legal team noted that Sengheiser denied the state’s motion to dismiss the suit and allowed the clergy to move forward with the challenge to the ban and several other restrictions on abortion access.
“My support for abortion rights stems from my Jewish faith. I believe that Judaism calls for a holistic approach when considering a pregnant person’s health and deciding whether to terminate a pregnancy, including challenges such as financial difficulties and protecting mental health” noted Rabbi Doug Alpert, Congregation Kol Ami. “But I would never try to write my Jewish perspective into law or impose it on people of other faiths. And yet that’s exactly what the Missouri legislature has done with its abortion bans – eroding the separation of church and state and undermining religious freedom.”
The plaintiffs said they believe they were called by their faith to support access to the choice as it plays a critical role in family health. Religious traditions represented include Baptist, Episcopalian, Orthodox Judaism, United Church of Christ, Reform Judaism, Unitarian Universalism and United Methodist. A state legislator has also joined the mix.
“Deeply rooted in Jewish scripture and tradition is the understanding that the life, safety, and well-being of a mother have priority over that of an unborn fetus,” confessed Rabbi Jim Bennett, Congregation Shaare Emeth. “Missouri’s state-sponsored bans on abortion are based on one narrow Christian view of abortion, which is wholly inconsistent with Reform Judaism. These bans impose a religious doctrine on me and fellow Reform Jews that contradicts our own beliefs.”
Court documents noted that the plaintiffs include:
- Rev. Traci Blackmon
- Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
- Rabbi Doug Alpert
- Rev. Jan Barnes
- Rabbi Jim Bennett
- Rev. Cindy Bumb
- Rabbi Andrea Goldstein
- Rev. Molly Housh Gordon
- Rev. Darryl Gray
- Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson
- Rev. Holly McKissick
- Rev. Barbara Phifer
- Rabbi Susan Talve
- Rev. Krista Taves
The suit alleged that Missouri’s ban on abortion, as well as other restrictions, violate the state constitution as it enshrines lawmakers’ personal beliefs about abortion in House Bill 126 and Senate Bill 5. A provision of the House Bill, the trigger ban, probits all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“For more than 50 years the United Church of Christ has supported abortion access and reproductive justice. My belief that abortion is essential health care is grounded in my faith and its foundational principles of love for God and one’s neighbor,” said Rev. Cindy Bumb, a retired member of the United Church of Christ. “Legislators have no right to ban abortion based on their personal religious views of when life begins – that is a religious question for which people of many faiths and no faith hold different views. Missouri’s abortion bans are entirely at odds with my beliefs. I joined this lawsuit because I want to ensure that Missouri legislators uphold their duty to abide by the Missouri Constitution’s guarantee of the separation of church and state.”
As the bills were vetted in the Statehouse, lawmakers openly and repeatedly emphasized they wrote their beliefs into the ban and even declared that “Almighty God is the author of life.” An opposing lawmaker called the phrase a violation of the separation of church and state.
“In my faith, women are respected as autonomous individuals capable of making decisions that are right for themselves and their families. My faith demands safe, equitable access to all forms of reproductive care, including abortions,” challenged Rabbi Andrea Goldstein, Congregation Shaare Emeth. “I am challenging Missouri’s abortion bans in court because they enforce religious views that are contrary to my faith, robbing me and my congregants of our religious freedom – a direct attack on the separation of church and state.”
Additionally, the suit named the defendants as Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey, Missouri Dept. of Health & Senior Services Acting Director Paula F. Nickelson and several officials at the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts.
“For decades, the Episcopal Church has affirmed that the decision to have an abortion is a personal one that should not be legislated away by the government. In 2018, the church’s General Convention declared that reproductive health care is integral to the struggle to assert women’s dignity and worth as human beings. I believe that abortion, which is based in reason and science, is not incompatible with scripture and is supported by my faith,” said the Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson, Eleventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. “The Missouri abortion bans are entirely at odds with my religious beliefs. Missouri legislators have enshrined in law a narrow religious view that does not reflect my own beliefs or the views of the Episcopal Church. That is a violation of my religious freedom and the separation of church and state.”
The faith leaders’ legal team consists of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the National Women’s Law Center, the Arnold & Porter law firm and local civil rights lawyer Denise Lieberman.
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