There appears to be an effort by some liberals to tie abortion and the gay agenda to the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.At a recent news conference, several feminist, homosexual and religious-left groups combined their rhetoric to claim that abortion and homosexuality are religious freedoms and part of their right to worship the way they want to.
Phyllis Snyder, president of the National Council of Jewish Women, maintained that legalized abortion actually protects religious freedom.
"This freedom, guaranteed by the Constitution, is strengthened by the separation of religion and the state," she said. "Make no mistake, the Roe v. Wade decision protects our religious liberty."
Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, told Family News in Focus that abortion is not a religious issue.
"Matters of life and death have never been considered in the courts as an exclusively religious question," he said. "In other words, you can't justify taking human life because it's a religious belief."
Schenck called it a new strategy by the left to co-opt abortion, even homosexuality, as tenets of religious freedom.
"This is a blatant and flagrant hijacking of religious sensibilities for the purpose of advancing their nefarious and, I dare say, evil propaganda," he said. "It attempts to hoodwink the public, and it is the most cynical insult against the religious sensibilities of Americans."