State lawsuits defend abortion access with religious freedom
Critics of religious freedom laws often argue they are used to discriminate against LGBTQ people and only protect a conservative Christian worldview
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cara Berg Raunick watched with bafflement as Indiana's Republican legislators took less than two weeks to debate and pass an abortion ban that the governor signed quickly into law.
The women’s health nurse practitioner from Indianapolis was struck by just how frequently faith was cited in the arguments as reason to ban the medical practice. But Berg Raunick, who is Jewish, said those views go against her beliefs.
To her, a pregnant woman's health and life is paramount, and she disagreed with legislators' assertions that life begins at conception, calling that a “Christian definition."
“That is a religious and values-based comment," said Berg Raunick. "A fetus is potential life, and that is worthy of great respect and is not to be taken lightly, but it does not supersede the life and health of the mother, period."
