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The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice of Connecticut is the voice in Connecticut that brings the moral power of people of faith and religious communities to ensure reproductive justice through education and advocacy.

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Our Whole Lives Facilitator Training - Grades 7 to 12
Fri, 06/14/2013 - 5:00pm - Sun, 06/16/2013 - 3:00pm

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Downloadable registration form

Catholic Poll

Catholic Voters Reject Political Influence
of Bishops

New Poll Reveals How Catholics View Key Election Issues

 

Rev. Harry Knox

Rev. Harry Knox - A Faithful Response to Trivializing Rape

Rev. Harry Knox Announces RCRC's Celebration & Education Campaign for Contraceptive Coverage

RCRC Endorses Obama Administration Contraception Rule as Fair to Religiously Affiliated Institutions That Serve the Public

June 1st, marks the third anniversary of Dr. George Tiller’s murder in Wichita, Kansas, a day for remembrance and reflection.

Dr. Tiller dedicated his life to helping women because as he said, “Abortion is about women’s hopes and dreams.”

Every woman is her own moral agent, and we must trust women to exercise the sacred power of deciding what is best for her and her family, and we must ensure that opportunity to make those sacred decisions is available to all women regardless of their race or socioeconomic level.

Read: Why I perform abortions: A Christian obstetrician explains his choice

 

Why Religious People Should Support the Rights of Women in Reproductive Decisions
Maternal Mortality
And
Mothers Day
 Sermon by Rev. Sara Lamar-Sterling


 

 

 

Comments by Rev. Sara Lamar-Sterling

Video of Speech by Alana Massey, Yale Seminarians for Choice

 

At the Unite Women CT Rally April 28, 2012

 

Exciting News RCRC of CT has updated its mission statement and expanded services to individuals and faith communities committed to reproductive justice. Now more than ever, men and women are being marginalized for their reproductive choices, their inability to access and afford healthcare, their sexual orientations, and more. It is time for the faithful as well as communities of faith to stand firm and united as a voice for God’s justice, compassion, and infinite love when it comes to the health and flourishing of men, women, and children.

Our new mission statement expands the work of RCRC of CT to go beyond issues of reproductive choice into a more robust commitment to reproductive justice. The new statement is centered on the core values of love, equality, tolerance, inclusiveness, and a commitment to liberation and wholeness that are foundational to our faiths. With these values in mind, we reaffirm our mission to advance reproductive choice and now include a mission that includes the advancement of all people marginalized for their socio-economic status, sexual orientation, reproductive choices, ethnicity, religion, age and race as it pertains to reproductive justice. We need YOU to help us implement our new mission. Join with us to work for reproductive justice for and take the RCRC of CT pledge:

As a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice of CT,
I pledge, through prayer and action, to work for reproductive justice for all and for the creation of a just world that includes trust and respect for the moral agency of women,
a world that nourishes the well-being of children and families,
a world that celebrates love and healthy relationships across boundaries of gender and sexuality.

I pledge to maintain a vision of justice that includes safe and affordable access to healthcare, including contraceptive care, pre-and post-natal care and abortion for all women, particularly those of color and the economically disadvantaged.
I believe that a just and compassionate God guides me to move in this direction, thereby responding to God’s call to infinite love, compassion and justice.


Letter to the Editor
The Rev. Maria LaSala
Co-Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of New Haven

I am pleased to see that the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to stop supporting Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer screening services was reversed. In my work as a pastor, I have known women who have benefited from the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s work in research in preventing breast cancer, one of the leading killers of women. It is essential that all women have access to the necessary tests that help diagnose and then treat this disease. I am also a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood, a great organization who nationally provides over 750,000 breast cancer screenings and who, in Connecticut and Rhode Island, offers these screenings to 15,000 women annually. The Planned Parenthood/Susan G. Komen partnership has provided many women with the preventative care necessary to protect their lives and I am glad that it will continue this year.

The Komen Foundation's original decision to withhold funds was so troubling because it divided women and divided those who support women’s health. We need to work together. We cannot ignore the needs of the poorest and most disenfranchised women in this country. It is hard enough to be a woman. Now is not the time to sacrifice women's health care.

Letter To The Editor
Religion Has No Place In Insurance Policy
Katharine Lannamann, Old Greenwich
The writer is president of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice of CT on 2012-02-06

As a person of faith, I firmly support the decisions of President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to reaffirm contraceptive services as preventive care for women under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Read more
Sermon: Black History Month: Health & Wellness
Rev. Sara Lamar-Sterling
First & Summerfield United Methodist Church

This past week was an eventful and politically charged one for women’s health care in the US. The Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure announced last Tuesday that they were going to withdrawal grant funding from Planned Parenthood. Their newly revised grant criteria prohibit funding any organization that is under congressional investigation. This would mean that a significant portion of the funding to provide breast cancer education, screenings and referrals to women who have limited or no health insurance would be cut off. Planned Parenthood argued that the Komen Foundation’s decision was really about pressure from those who don’t want Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of affordable reproductive health care services in the US, to receive any funding of any kind, even for breast cancer screenings. Read more


Maria LaSala , RCRC of CTRoe v. Wade New Conference
Hartford, CT
Legislative Office Building
January 23, 21012
Maria LaSala, RCRC of CT

I am honored to be here today … with this courageous group of pro-choice advocates on this the 39th Anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, granting women the right to safe and legal abortion. My name is Maria LaSala and I represent the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice of Connecticut, a group of clergy and lay leaders of all religious traditions who value life and who value and trust women. Read More

1 in 3 campaign
One Woman's Story - A New Conversation About Abortion


1 in 3 women will have an abortion in her lifetime, but we almost never talk about it. Let's start now.

Please join the 1 in 3 Campaign - a project that uses the power of personal stories to stand up against stigma and silence around abortion.

Help create a dialogue that puts people at the center of the conversation about abortion.

Together, we can begin to build a culture of compassion, empathy, and support.

Rev. Maria LaSala
“Re-reading Advent’s Annunciation”
By The Rev. Dr. Maria LaSala, Co-Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of New Haven

RCRC of CT offers resources such as liturgies,  sermons and prayers  for clergy as well as programs to train clergy to deal with those facing an unintended pregnancy or reproductive loss.  Prayerfully pro-choice is the position of many mainstream American faiths including Episcopal, Jewish, United Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist and Baptist.  We are looking for committees, judicatories and secular organizations as well as additional clergy and individuals of faith to join us. 

We want to include your voice in our work. Please read more about our upcoming programs and events.

Article

Fear mongering obstructs reasonable talk
“TO everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die.” Ecclesiastes speaks to those who have been working hard to care for those in communities of faith who struggle with ill health and chronic pain, who face decisions about end-of-life matters and who struggle to come to terms, financially, with health care challenges. Read Post

Article

It's Simple Justice! Health Care Reform Must Include Reproductive Health Services

 

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