Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Files Amicus Brief
in Supreme Court Abortion Case

53 Religious and Religiously Affiliated
Organizations Endorse Brief

"In past cases, briefs from religious groups have figured highly in the Court's decision-making process," said Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, president of the Religious Coalition. "It's vitally important that the Court hears from pro-choice religious groups to understand the full diversity of religious opinion on this issue."

Nebraska's ban is so vaguely written that it could outlaw the safest and most common abortion procedures used prior to viability, not just post-viability procedures. Women would be forced to use less-safe procedures that could harm their health and ability to have children in the future. The Religious Coalition argues that the Nebraska ban unacceptably interferes with critical decisions about family, which are protected by the rights of individual privacy and religious liberty. State statutes drastically curtailing access to abortion intrude on an individual's right to act according to her beliefs and conscience, without governmental coercion or interference.

The intense debate about abortion is driven by profound disagreement among and even within religions, said Reverend Veazey. Where religious people have such profound and sincere differences, the government must not enact restrictive legislation that interferes with the exercise of personal and religious conscience.

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice brief was submitted by Dechert Price & Rhoads of Philadelphia. A decision is expected in June.

The Religious Coalition, founded in 1973, is the national pro-choice coalition of people of faith. Coalition members include more than 40 national religious, religiously affiliated, and faith-based organizations from 16 denominations and faith traditions as well as 22 state affiliates and the national Clergy for Choice Network.

If you would like to read the amicus brief submitted by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, click here.

The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download a free copy, click here.