Seminary Education in Theology, Ethics, and Reproductive Choice
Bonnie Margulis
November 22, 2005 in Philadelphia

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice would like to invite attendees at the upcoming AAR/SBL conference in Philadelphia to join us on Tuesday, November 22, from 7 – 8:30 am (location TBA), for breakfast and a panel presentation about an exciting new course in Seminary Education in Theology, Ethics, and Reproductive Choice! Over breakfast, this panel will present the experience of an innovative collaboration between the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, an activist non-profit organization, and Chicago Theological Seminary faculty in developing and piloting a graduate-level course addressing theology, pastoral care and reproductive choice issues. Panel members will discuss the history and processes of the development of the course “Theology and Reproductive Choice,” its curriculum, teaching methods, and the experiences with its pilot offering to seminary students. Strategies for navigating volatile issues in the classroom and creating space for theological analysis and pastoral care preparation will be highlighted.

Panelists:
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, MA, MAHL, Director of Clergy Programming, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Julianne Buenting, RN, CNM, DNS, Chicago Theological Seminary
Kathryn A. Lyndes, LCSW, M.Div., PhD(cand.), Chicago Theological Seminary
Responding:
Mary E. Hunt, PhD, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual

This panel presentation is particularly timely in light of several contextual dimensions: the current religious and political climates for debate about the status of Roe v Wade and stem-cell research, the proliferation of reproductive technologies creating new ethical issues, and the state of pastoral care and religious scholarship, which focuses primarily on the concepts of when life begins and God’s will in the decision-making processes. A few notable exceptions include scholars such as Beverly Harrison, Christie Neuger, and Mary Hunt, who have addressed the ethical debates within more complex contexts, towards a religious openness to the diversity of factors that inform decision-making processes. This course makes a significant contribution in preparing seminarians to be able to relate the history of reproduction politics to a variety of theological, religious and legal perspectives (for example, rights to privacy, autonomy, and bodily integrity), and to analyze how these perspectives inform pastoral care and ministerial leadership in ethical debate and public policy.

Please RSVP by November 10 to Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 202-628-7700, bmargulis@rcrc.org.
6/10/2005