Prayers for the Supreme Court

Yesterday, the Religious Institute staff co-led a faith rally before the Supreme Court hearings on contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care Act.  I've written about that elsewhere but I wanted to share my comments from the worship service.  I'm delighted to tell you that as of yesterday nearly 10,000 people had signed our petition with the National Coalition of American Nuns. (If you haven't done so, please go to http://bit.ly.com/nuns4bc right away!)

Here are my opening words and prayer before the Supreme Court yesterday:

We are so pleased to welcome you to this faith rally, this worship service, and this important day.  I’m Rev. Debra Haffner, President and CEO of the Religious Institute, a multifaith organization committed to raising faithful voices for sexuality education, reproductive justice, and the full inclusion of women and LGBTQ people in faith communities and society.

I stand here today representing thousands of people of faith who have demonstrated their commitment to universal access to birth control.  I bring with me the names and hopes of more than 9800 people of faith who are standing with us and will have their names on a banner that will be at the Supreme Court later this morning.  I bring with me more than 45 leaders of national faith organizations that have endorsed a national statement on behalf of birth control coverage.  I bring with me the more than 6400 religious leaders who have signed our Religious Declaration calling for a faith based commitment to sexual and reproductive rights, including access to contraception and more than 1200 clergy persons who have endorsed the Open Letter to Religious Leaders on Family Planning. 

Please respond to my statements with:

       We are people of faith.

We believe that all persons should be free to make personal decisions about their reproductive lives, their health and the health of their families.

        We are people of faith.

We affirm that ensuring equal access to contraceptives through insurance coverage is a moral good.

         We are people of faith.

We know that the sin is not family planning; the sin is denying women coverage and access to services they want and they need.

         We are people of faith. 

It is because life is sacred, that we believe that every woman must be able to plan her pregnancies intentionally without governmental interference and without her employer in her bedroom.

          We are people of faith.   

We support religious freedom.  Religious freedom means that each individual has the right to exercise their own beliefs and the right not to have others’ beliefs forced upon them.  We know that individuals have religious freedom and that corporations do not. 

We are people of faith.

We gather today – as people from many traditions with many beliefs – surrounded by a cloud of witnesses here with us in spirit -- united by our hopes and our prayers for the wisdom and eloquence of the attorneys, the compassion and hearts of the justices, and the lives of the millions of women who are counting on us to assure their right to plan their families based on their own faith and conscience.

And so may we say together, so that all who listen will understand, that religious leaders and people of faith support women’s moral agency and universal access to contraception:

            We are people of faith. 

May it be so.

Pray for Sotomayor -- and That The Senators and Commentators Withhold Racist/Sexist Comments

I like Sonya Sotomayor.

I don't know her (although we share some mutual friends), but at least so far, she's a rock star to me. I love that her mom is in the front row at the hearings, I like the outfit, I like that she got on the plane on crutches. More, I like what I know about how she rules and how she speaks her mind. (Of course, like everyone else who is a pro-choice advocate, I'd like to know more about her positions on Roe and other abortion decisions.)

Last week, the Women's Media Center ran a montage of clips showing the racist and sexist coverage of the nomination. You have to watch it yourself to believe that people are saying these things in 2009: http://bit.ly/15DsYJ I was especially infuriated by G. Gordon Liddy (he of Watergate infamy) speculating she might not make good decisions if she was menstruating or, heavens worse, about to menstruate. (Mr. Liddy obviously doesn't live with women...or know that if he is to worry it's probably more appropriate to be concerned about hot flashes or perimenopausal rage...but I digress.)

I've only caught a tiny bit of the opening hearing; it seems like a lot of posturing to me. But to the Senators involved, I'm praying that you remember that the fact that she is a Latina and a woman is unworthy of being remarked upon in this hearing on her suitability for the High Court. And I think I will leave it up to the WMC to monitor Fox tonight; I don't think I can pray enough to keep them from offering sexist and racist coverage.

Supreme Court nominees and Prop 8: A Time to Weep and A Time to Celebrate

There is a time to weep and a time to laugh...

A time to celebrate and a time to mourn.

And today was both of those.

I couldn't be happier with President Obama's pick of Sonia Sotomayor as the nominee for the next Supreme Court Justice. I don't know much more than the papers have said, but I'm delighted about what I've read about her, her previous decisions, her amazing background, and thrilled to think that the Supreme Court will have its first Latina member.

That was before 9 a.m.

And then at 1 p.m. EST, the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8, effectively denying same sex couples in California the right to marry. It was satisfying to learn that the Court upheld the marriages that had been performed last summer and fall, and I'm happy for my friends who got married at that time. But, I am weeping for those who may not be legally married simply because they are in love with someone of the same sex. Yes, simply...because goodness, I believe that what makes a good marriage has nothing to do with the sex or gender of the partners.

And yet, I'm hopeful. Iowa and Vermont made same sex marriage legal in the past few months. New Hampshire and New York may follow. Other states will surely follow.

Outside interference and propaganda helped pass Prop 8. In time, I believe that justice will prevail...in California and in every state.

And Sonia Sotomayor may be the key. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court must decide that it's unconstitutional to create second class citizens -- based on sexual orientation or gender identity or anything else. Separate but not equal is not just unconstitutional -- it's wrong.

President Obama's Supreme Court may indeed be the key to change. It is time for justice to prevail.