Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson

“For decades, the Episcopal Church has affirmed that the decision to have an abortion is a personal one that should not be legislated away by the government. In 2018, the church’s General Convention declared that reproductive health care is integral to the struggle to assert women’s dignity and worth as human beings. I believe that abortion, which is based in reason and science, is not incompatible with scripture and is supported by my faith. The Missouri abortion bans are entirely at odds with my religious beliefs. Missouri legislators have enshrined in law a narrow religious view that does not reflect my own beliefs or the views of the Episcopal Church. That is a violation of my religious freedom and the separation of church and state.”