Resurrecting a Catholic and Comparative Case for Reproductive Freedom

The Dobbs decision is causing catastrophic consequences to women and queer people’s reproductive freedom and health care.  Roman Catholic leaders, including the American Bishops, are aligning with other patriarchal manifestations of Christianity to curtail access to legal abortion and discourage birth control.  This paper formulates a Roman Catholic argument—a Catholic Case—for reproductive freedom by resurrecting and revisiting historical concepts  from Catholic ethics and liberation theology that are no longer commonly associated with Reproductive Ethics. This resurrected “Catholic Case” also connects to supporting Jewish and Muslim teachings on abortion.  The Catholic Case for Reproductive Freedom resurrects the currently dormant  or underused Christian ethics of 1) double effect 2) liberation theology 3) original Thomistic personhood (ensoulment) 4) proportionality and 5) Post Vatican II bioethics to grow reproductive freedom and mitigate the oppressive life vs. choice binary.