The United States is facing pressing issues of healthcare and its intersection with gender and sexuality. These papers consider contemporary Catholic and Orthodox Jewish views of reproductive rights and gender-affirming care. They utilize different methods to understand the intersection of theological stances and personal experience, arguing collectively that binary choices, as these issues are commonly framed politically, do not encapsulate the spectrum of theological perspectives and healthcare practices. The papers call for a critical analysis of these emerging views and practices in light of the political climate around religion, gender, and sexuality.
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.
In April 2024, Dignitas Infinita asserted that any “sex-change intervention” risks threatening “the unique dignity” of persons. In October 2024, a group of transgender and intersex people, met with Pope Francis and discussed the importance of transgender healthcare. In March 2025, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández suggested that in some "exceptional circumstances" there may be room for gender affirming care. eanwhile, in the wake of the 2024 election, the USCCB has seemed to double down on anti-trans policies and legislation, endangering the lives of trans Catholics and forsaking them. This paper examines the experience of trans Catholics through interviews, testimonies, and writings to demonstrate how trans affirming care is life affirming. Drawing on Catholic ethics and incarnational theology, this paper argues that the need for Catholic institutions to support trans individuals and gender affirming care is not merely harm reduction and suicide prevention, but contributes to the flourishing of trans Catholics.
This paper examines shifting Orthodox rabbinic opinions and activity regarding abortions in recent years, particularly following the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. Contrary to a monolithic “galvanization,” responses to Dobbs have revealed divergent responses within Orthodox communities. This paper traces the complex landscape of Halachic Jewish thought on abortion, from biblical verses through their application in the opposing views of the Tzitz Eliezer and Reb Moshe. It investigates how post-Dobbs orthodox camps are not only split, but at times changing their positions to more divergent approaches on issues such as permissible abortion boundaries for maternal health, and examines apparent shifts in rabbinic thought and advocacy might line up with a wider cultural alignment of certain Orthodox sectors with conservative Christianity, the GOP, and/or Trumpism. As such, this research underscores the dynamic interplay of halakhic tradition, political realities, and evolving ethical frameworks concerning reproductive rights.