Due to the inauguration of our new President, the already rising concerns regarding the discontinuation of federal funding for Planned Parenthood has boiled over. In response to the restriction of women’s access to health care, the worldwide Women’s March demonstrated the disapproval of a variety of potential acts.It is common to find that those believe in a religion lean towards the pro-life side of the controversy, however, in, “Yes, People Of Faith Can Absolutely Support Planned Parenthood”, Carol Kuruvilla interview people in religious leadership positions who are pro-choice. Amnita Kilawan, the co-founder of Sadhana: Coalition of progressive Hindus argues that by refusing women the right of choosing whether to have an abortion or not, “‘denies the equality the Bhagavad Gita call upon [them] to carry out’” (Kuruvilla). Ani Zonneveld the president of Muslim for Progressive Views describes that the first 120 days of a pregnancy (before God gives soul to the baby) is open to abortion, but afterwards it is not favored unless the baby is harming the mother, the pillar of family structure. The article also interviews Pagans, Jews, and Christians all describing how when viewed in a different light, they could believe in their religion and still remain pro-choice.

This article showed me that while religion can reflect itself within every aspect of who someone is and the decisions they make, it is possible to find an individuality. Not all religious people are pro-life and not all non-believers are pro-choice. Some people view this controversy as a result of a diminishing separation between the church and state, but every correlation has an outlier.