DJAN stands for Reproductive Freedom

Both Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN) and Disciples for Choice (DFC) strongly affirm freedom of conscience and religious liberty. We also strongly affirm that the moral agency of women is equal to that of men, with both sexes being capable of making decisions about their own beliefs, their own bodies, and their own lives. That is why we support the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada when it has on three different occasions affirmed reproductive freedom as a right that deserves and requires legal protection.

 Let us be clear:  Some Christians believe that life begins at conception while others do not.  Some Christians think that the Bible speaks to the issue of abortion while others do not.  Some Christians believe that Church teachings take precedence over freedom of conscience while others do not.  And some Christians claim that natural law supports their religious point of view while others deny the claim that there is only one understanding of natural law.  Therefore, there is no universal agreement among Christians about when life begins, about whether the Bible says anything about the issue of abortion, about the role of religious institutions in determining one’s own religious beliefs, and about whose religious understanding of natural law is correct.  This being the case, how could one possibly expect that there would be complete agreement on these issues by all people of faith from so many diverse religious traditions?

 Nevertheless, some Christians seek to use the power of the state to impose their particular religious views not only on other Christians, but also on other people of faith, and indeed even on people of conscience who do not identify themselves as in any way religious.  Fortunately, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of conscience and religious liberty by prohibiting the state from promoting one religious perspective over other religious perspectives, including a religious perspective that demands restrictions on reproductive freedom.

 Therefore, as people of faith, as Christians, and as Disciples of Christ, we thank God for the separation of church and state, and we pray that both freedom of conscience and religious liberty continue to be legally protected.  And like our denomination's General Assembly, we affirm the right of women to have full knowledge of and full access to the full range of options in the area of reproductive health care, including the procedure known as abortion, without religiously-based state interference.