The following was released by Episcopal Diocese of Michigan’s Bishop Bonnie A. Perry in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion.

June 24, 2022

Dear Friends,

I am a Christian. I am the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. I oversee 74 congregations and communities of faith in southeast and south-central Michigan: some 17,000 people.

I am pro-choice. I support a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body. The teaching in the Episcopal Church since 1967 — explicitly supports a woman’s right to determine if and when she will decide to have a child. (See Resolutions by clicking on the button below.)

As a pastor of more than 30 years I have sat with women and with couples who have grappled with the decision to have an abortion. One couple stands out to me. They arrived unexpectantly in my office, sobbing, having just received the news of a devastating fetal anomaly. Their ultimate decision to have an abortion and end her pregnancy was not done unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and prayerfully. I bore witness to their decision-making process and cried and prayed with them.

I have the deepest compassion and care for women and couples who make this decision.

I believe abortion should be safe, accessible, and rare. I believe it should be medically informed and not legislatively dictated, or judicially restricted.

I write this as a person of deep faith and love for Jesus Christ.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Bonnie A. Perry
11th Bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan