North Carolina religious studies professor, ordained minister says 'no shame, no sin' when getting abortion
'I felt God’s presence with me as I made the decision to end two pregnancies and I felt no guilt, no shame, no sin,' Rev. Rebecca Todd Peters said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A North Carolina college religious studies professor and ordained minister is reportedly on a "mission" to tackle the abortion issue to "shift the cultural paradigm that abortion is sin," according to the Religious News Service [RNS].
Rev. Rebecca Todd Peters is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church and a professor of religious studies at Elon University. Peters’ other work includes leading the Abortion and Religion project.
An advocate of reproductive rights, Peters shared her own personal story of getting two abortions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Protesters shout as they join thousands marching around the Arizona Capitol after the Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision Friday, June 24, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
On July 9, 2023, Peters spoke to a group of women at a Unitarian-Universalist church in Chapel Hill, N.C.
"Abortion makes many people profoundly uncomfortable," she said to a Unitarian Universalist congregation during a lecture at the Community Church of Chapel Hill.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I felt God’s presence with me as I made the decision to end two pregnancies and I felt no guilt, no shame, no sin," she told the congregation in Chapel Hill. "A forced pregnancy or birth is not holy."
Her speech came after Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law new abortion restrictions that will ban abortions for pregnancies past 12 weeks, down from 20 weeks.
Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law new abortion restrictions that will ban abortions for pregnancies past 12 weeks, down from 20 weeks. (Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & OBserver/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Peters also had words on the Christian church’s response to reproductive rights, although she holds a master’s of divinity and a Ph.D. in Christian ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
"These people said they were Christian, and it was just this huge disconnect for me — this, cognitive dissonance," she said. "How can these people say that they are loving Christians and be so horrible?" the RNS reported.
According to her website, "her work as a feminist social ethicist is focused on globalization, economic, environmental, and reproductive justice."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lake View Presbyterian Church hangs a pride flag in support of Gay Pride Week on June 23, 2020, in Chicago, Illinois. (Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)
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She claims to be a preacher and teacher who is "particularly interested in issues of reproductive health, rights, and justice; poverty and economic justice; and privilege, globalization, and solidarity," her website states.
Her website also features her "Sermons about abortion" which includes the caption "Abortion is a moral and social good & many good Christian women have abortions."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Blessed are those who end pregnancies," one of her sermons is titled.
Peters did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.