Tikkun Magazine, January/February 2008

Don't Bury Sexual Justice Beneath 'Common Ground'

by Debra W. Haffner and Timothy Palmer

PROGRESSIVE FAITH LEADERS PERCEIVE opportunity in the 2008 elections. The Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in October revealed disunity among the religious right and no clear presidential frontrunner. That same month, the New York Times Magazine reported that prominent Evangelical Christians such as Rick Warren and Bill Hybels are softening the anti-abortion and "preserving marriage" (i.e. anti-same sex marriage) rhetoric to seek common ground on larger social justice issues, such as health care and poverty.

Religious leaders on the Left may be tempted to meet them halfway. That is certainly where the Democratic presidential field has drifted. The leading candidates have barely addressed abortion, and none has spoken out for marriage equality. Meanwhile, many so-called "progressives" have privately cautioned us at the Religious Institute not to insist on engaging sexual justice issues. Their thinking appears to be this: Abortion and LGBT rights have polarized the electorate and overshadowed other moral issues. Why not shift the debate from these "hot buttons" (the media's label, not ours) and focus on bigger concerns? Surely we can find common ground with the evangelical mainstream on issues affecting children and the poor.

We must resist the temptation to bury sexual justice beneath common ground. We agree that the moral issues at stake are broader than the mainstream media would suggest. In fact, they are all woven together. And the irony is, if we push aside women's reproductive rights and LGBT inclusion, we could do real harm to the very constituencies we agree we are called to serve: children and the poor.

Consider the children of same-sex couples. The 2000 U.S. Census counted nearly 600,000 same-sex households, although the actual number is probably much higher. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) estimates that there are anywhere from 1 to 10 million children living in these homes. Denied the 1,318 marriage benefits conferred by federal law, same-sex couples must negotiate an obstacle course to ensure joint-parenting rights, secure family health benefits, and provide the level of stability that married heterosexual couples take for granted. As the AAP concluded, "children of same-gender parents often experience economic, legal, and familial insecurity as a result of the absence of legal recognition of the bonds of their non-biological parents." The burden of legalized discrimination, however, falls heaviest on lower-income families, who cannot afford the lawyers to help them.

Similarly, poor women are disproportionately affected when reproductive health services are denied or inaccessible. The rate of unintended births is five times greater among poor women than higher-income women in the United States. Between 1994 and 2001, unintended births among poor women grew 44 percent. As a result, more than half of the unwanted children in the United States are born into poverty.

The trends are particularly stark among teenagers. Although teen pregnancy and birth rates have declined by one-third since the early 1990s, one in three American girls still gets pregnant by the age of 20. Rates of sexual activity among lower-and higher-income adolescents are virtually identical, but the outcomes are not. Poor and low-income adolescents account for nearly three-quarters of women aged 15-19 who become pregnant.

Many progressive religious leaders have joined the call to reduce the number of abortions in the U.S., a goal that is difficult to support when there are those working tirelessly to deny women access to abortion. Our emphasis instead should be on reducing the number of unintended pregnancies. It is precisely because life and parenthood are so precious that we must ensure that life is not created carelessly. This requires a commitment to comprehensive sexuality education and family planning services.

We must continue to press for LGBT equality and reproductive choice. That is our moral obligation to those we are called to serve. Furthermore, it makes no sense to compromise our values at the very moment when the political climate, and voters themselves, seem ready to move forward.

Yes, there is common ground emerging, even for sexual justice. Nearly half of Americans now consider themselves pro-choice, three-quarters favor some level of abortion availability, and most do not want Roe v. Wade overturned (Gallup poll, 2007). Similarly, 51 percent of Americans favor either civil unions or full marriage equality for same-sex couples (CNN/ORC poll, 2007). Even among evangelical Christians, four in ten support some legal rights for same-sex couples (American Values Survey, 2006). Support for all of these issues is generally higher among younger Americans than older ones.

This is not the time to change course. We may not achieve the full measure of sexual justice we pray for in 2008. But we have every reason to press on. Millions of women and children are counting on us.

Rev. Debra W. Haffner is director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing in Westport, CT. Timothy Palmer is director of research and communications for the Religious Institute. For a succinct guide to the issues and facts see the authors' A Time to Seek: Study Guide on Sexual and Gender Diversity, September 2007, available at www.religiousinstitute.org.

Haffner, Debra W. and Timothy Palmer. 2008. Don't bury sexual justice beneath 'common ground.' Tikkun 23(1):50-51.