Typically, religious groups associated with opposition to abortion. That is not the case for a Dallas congregation that, nearly 50 years ago, when the Roe v. Wade, has provided assistance to women as they view termination of pregnancy as a fundamental right.
Last week, after the Supreme Court overturned the ruling, the First Unitarian Church of Dallas o First Unitarian Church of Dallas assured that they will continue with the support they have given to women who want to have an abortion.
The Rev. Daniel Kanter, the church’s senior minister, said they will still do what they can “to help women get safe and legal abortions.”
In December 2021, Kanter organized a first trip outside of Texas for a group of 20 women to a clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 650 miles from Dallas.
The trip came after Texas in September banned abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which occurs around six weeks, and the number of procedures being performed in Texas was reduced by 70%.
A church with “diverse beliefs”
On its website, the First Unitarian Church of Dallas says its beliefs “are diverse and inclusive.”
“Although both Unitarianism and Universalism were liberal Christian traditions, the responsible search has led us to an inclusive spirituality drawn from six sources: from biblical wisdom to personal experience and modern heroes,” they maintain.
It was in January 1970 when a group of women from the First Unitarian Church of Dallas met to discuss the issue of abortion that then, as now, divided the country. This group determined that it would support the writing of a key legal brief in support of reproductive choice that they presented to the courts during Roe v. Wade.
Reverend Kanter recently spoke openly about sex and the difficult personal decision he had to make with a former partner to end a pregnancy in a Sunday address to his congregation.
“Part of my decision to become a minister was to heal from the experience,” he said.
They call to continue their mission
On the religious group’s website, Kanter posted: “I am doing this because I not only believe in the fundamental right of all people to make decisions about their bodiesbut also in the names of all those hundreds of families I’ve sat down with who made the difficult decision to terminate pregnancies.”
“I believe that Texas should not interfere with my call to compassionately care for all people who have to make difficult decisions in life that sometimes end in abortions,” he added.
Last Friday night, the same day that Roe vs. Wade was overruled, the First Unitarian Church of Dallas community came together to pray for strength to continue their mission of helping women who need an abortion.
“Hold this pain, but not too much,” Kanter told his congregants. “We will still do what we can to help women get safe and legal abortions.”
The church has recently had to hire plainclothes officers to protect the community, in recognition of how sensitive the issue has become in the country.