No on 67: Rev. Jann Halloran’s remarks

by corcrc-admin
No on 67: Personhood Amendment
Rev. Jann Halloran’s remarks
Speech at July 29th Rally
Good afternoon. I’m the Rev. Jann Halloran
And I serve as president
Of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice of Colorado.
For the past 17 years I have offered pastoral counseling
To women with unexpected pregnancies and unexpected risks
In crisis about what decision they should make.
These issues of reproductive justice are played out in public
But individual women and their families are the ones
Who suffer in private,
trying to make the most loving
And ethical decisions they can for themselves and their
Families based upon their own beliefs and values.
At the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice,
Which offers this emergency clergy counseling service
to women of all faiths – or no faith –
we believe religious freedom
is one of the foundations of our democracy.
We believe individual rights
and matters of personal conscience must be held sacred.
This is why we, people of faith,
stand with you today
to resolutely and resoundingly say:
Vote NO on 67!
We do not believe one religious belief
or doctrine should be written into the state Constitution,
And Amendment 67 is an unabashed attempt to do exactly that.
It ignores the many beliefs, perspectives and individual rights
Of all women and their need to make very personal decisions.
At the center of the reproductive health debate
are important questions about individual conscience.
Decisions about family planning, birth control
and emergency contraceptives
should be resolved privately,
based upon our own beliefs and values.
Individuals should look to their own faith or beliefs
as they make difficult choices about their pregnancies and health,
and we, the people, must protect against mandates
that all Coloradans must follow the tenets of one religious viewpoint.
And to be clear, there are many religious perspectives on this issue,
And many progressive Jewish, Christian and Unitarian Universalist
people of faith strongly agree
With me that a woman can make a moral decision
for an abortion under many circumstances,
a decision that is both loving, fair and ethical
based upon her own personal medical history, beliefs and needs.
Amendment 67 would insert one religious viewpoint
into the Colorado Constitution,
in direct violation of our American values
which protect religious freedom.
The creation of laws grounded in religious belief also conflicts
with the separation of church and state,
and compromises religious liberty for all of us.
We must be allowed to live our lives
according to our own beliefs and values.
The misleading language of Amendment 67
would allow the government to interfere
with important moral decisions best left to a woman,
her family, her doctor and her faith.
Today, once again, we join our relatives,
friends, colleagues, and congregation members to work to defeat Amendment 67.
Please join us and vote NO on 67! Thank you.
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