Why this former Catholic nun is voting yes on Missouri Amendment 3 for abortion rights | Opinion

As a cradle Catholic, a former Catholic nun and now an active member of the Loretto Feminist Network, I have internalized a basic tenet of my faith: the importance of conscience. As a lifelong Missourian, I now have the opportunity to put that core tenet into practice at the voting booth this November by voting yes on Amendment 3.

It might surprise you that Catholics so easily vote yes on this ballot initiative. After all, the Catholic hierarchy in Missouri has used every opportunity to convince Catholics to vote otherwise — from requiring the reading of political messages at Sunday mass, to putting out misinformation about the ballot, to even contributing more than $20,000 to fight this ballot amendment, which at its core would prevent government interference and uphold an individual person’s conscience in reproductive health decisions. But my religious tradition equips me and encourages me to support reproductive freedom.

Catholic teaching states that Catholics should discern ethically complex situations and that our consciences should be the final judge in all moral decision-making. In other words, official church teachings tell us not to accept passively what hierarchy dictates. This deeply embedded guiding force leads me, in good faith, to vote yes on Amendment 3.

Religious freedom, another core tenet of my faith, calls me to value religious pluralism and respect the separation of church and state. As a citizen of the United States, I recognize that the First Amendment grants me the right to practice my religion freely — and also be free from the religious beliefs of others.

None of us want the government, or even our faith traditions, telling us how to make decisions related to reproductive care. Freedom of religion means that institutions, like the Catholic hierarchy, shouldn’t be able to coerce or control a person’s conscience. Nor does it grant them the ability to impose doctrine over doctors in determining when life begins or viability, especially when that might be a different view from my neighbors’ with other religious upbringings.

Women are equal to men, and that includes embracing bodily autonomy and making informed reproductive decisions with the guidance of medical professionals. It is our discretion what members of our community we choose to consult. It should not be made for us by politicians or by religious officials who have no wives, no daughters and no insight into the day-to-day reproductive health care decisions that families must make.

Like me, the majority of Catholics in the United States believe abortion should be legal. In fact, only 1 in 10 Catholics agrees with the bishops’ position that abortion should be illegal in all cases. It’s because we innately understand the true lived experiences of Catholics in a way that the bishops do not, and they certainly don’t even try to understand. The reality of faithful Catholics cannot be more separate from the bishops’ view.

I am ashamed that the so-called leaders of my religious tradition are holding on so tightly to the misinformation plaguing the pulpits when, instead, they would better serve their community by listening to Pope Francis’ call to encounter people across lines of difference. Catholic leadership in Missouri is spreading false claims about religious beliefs and about Amendment 3. They continue to funnel parishioners’ hard-earned money in opposing Amendment 3, and by doing so, interfering in their parishioner’s right to access health care. This is not only a gross example of the religious overreach of the Catholic hierarchy, but also a misrepresentation of the Catholic faithful.

As a lifelong activist, I know that my faith supports my deeply held beliefs — including my belief that our advocacy must center on the most marginalized people in our society, who are the very same people most affected by abortion bans and restrictions. All people deserve access to the economic and social resources they need to make their own conscience-based family planning decisions. Amendment 3 secures the right to reproductive healthcare and protects pregnant people’s lives.

Amendment 3 advances the common good I am called, as a Catholic and a citizen, to advance. Pro-choice Catholics, you are not alone.

Join me in voting yes on Amendment 3.