THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509280376
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
The billboard of baby-blue sky and fluffy-white clouds is almost too serene for the congested Kempsville Road and Battlefield Boulevard intersection nearby.
But it's the words floating in the heavens - ``Believe it: People of all Faiths believe a woman should decide'' - that might slow a few motorists over the next month.
The billboard is one of two the National Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice has rented in Chesapeake to begin a national campaign to show that those who believe in God can also believe in abortion rights.
``We are here because these (acts of violence) have been justified in the name of religion, justified in the name of God,'' Ann Thompson Cook, national director of the coalition, said during a news conference in Virginia Beach on Wednesday.
``This is not religious behavior, it is intolerance.''
The coalition, formerly known as the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights, started the project to combat media messages and public perception that the abortion debate is between ``secular'' pro-choice groups and ``religious'' anti-abortion activists.
Cook said Hampton Roads is the perfect spot for its debut - the home of the Christian Coalition, with its anti-abortion stance, and Norfolk's Hillcrest Clinic, which has long been the target of anti-abortion demonstrations and violence.
Cook was joined by several local clergy members Wednesday in championing reproductive freedom as well as the need for more dialogue among the clergy.
``In recent years voices on the religious right have increasingly sought to take control of the national dialogue on values and in this case of a woman's choice,'' said the Rev. Maj-Britt Johnson, minister of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk.
``They have nearly succeeded in usurping the words faith and value as their private possession. I am here today as a minister, along with my colleagues, to say that it is possible to be a person of faith and believe a woman has a right to choose.''
Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach said it is important for religious leaders to take public stands to clarify the issues.
``Jewish law, known as Halacha, places the unborn in a secondary position to the mother. Her well-being comes before that of the fetus that she carries within her,'' Zoberman said.
``While abortion is restricted to a life-threatening condition to the mother, this requirement is interpreted more widely by the non-Orthodox Jewish movements to include psychological and social factors as well.''
The national group includes 38 member organizations and has representatives from Catholic to Jewish congregations. Formed in 1973 after the Roe vs. Wade decision legalized abortion, it has worked to promote programs that allow women and families access to birth control and fertility options, prenatal care and child care.
The group will extend its latest campaign to cities and areas that express an interest in having the billboards. She would not disclose the location of future sites.
``There are concerns about publicizing,'' Cook said. ``Anti-choice groups would go out and rent all of the billboards in that area.
The second local billboard is in the 2200 block of S. Military Highway in Chesapeake, near the Midway Shopping Center. It reads, ``Believe it: Most Church Going Americans Believe a Woman Should Decide.'' ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON
Staff
This billboard on South Battlefield Boulevard is one of two the
group is renting in Chesapeake.
by CNB