This is a guest post by Rev. Dr. Emma Percy, University of Aberdeen, in which she engages the book chapter “Reproductive Injustice as Social Sin: Mapping Sin Discourse into Debates about Fertility Decisions,” by Dr. Kathryn Lilla Cox, Research Associate at the University of San Diego. Dr. Percy’s contribution is part of a series at Catholic Moral Theology in which scholars from around the world respond to chapters from the co-edited volume Reproduction and the Common Good: Global Perspectives from the Catholic Tradition, available for free download thanks to the generous collaboration between Journal of Moral Theology and Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church.
There are many terms for a woman considered to have behaved in a sexually transgressive way, most of them are not very polite. Men tend to fare better, they may ‘sow their wild oats’, and their sexual misdemeanours are less heavily judged. This gendered difference becomes even more pronounced if the sex leads to pregnancy. It is the girl or woman who then needs to go through pregnancy, birth and motherhood. There may be options; she can terminate the pregnancy or continue it and give the child to someone else. In Catholic, and many other Christian traditions, the former is considered a grave sin, and the complex emotional cost of the latter is immense. If she does the ‘right’ thing and has a child she may well find that she continues to be judged for the original misdemeanour, that is having sex outside of marriage. Kathryn Lilla Cox uses Miriam’s story to illustrate this point and to begin to talk about sin.
Despite Miriam accepting the consequences of her sexual behaviour and taking on the responsibility of motherhood she is marginalised and experiences this as punishment. This illustrates an aspect of reproductive injustice. Cox asks us to think about where we locate sin. Can we develop a broader landscape and above all, address our own complicity and collusion in societal sin? We live in a highly sexualised world, from the Rom Com movies, which equate love and sex, to the ubiquitous pornography, sex is everywhere and portrayed as a part of a healthy fulfilled life. Into this worldview the Church talks about sexual sin. Sex outside of marriage and sex with contraception are sins. Young women and men must navigate this world with complex questions of consent, desire, and plenty of peer pressure. They do this in a world where sexual violence against women is all too prevalent. Cox draws on McCabe’s analysis of rape culture that ‘constructs femininity as sexual availability and masculinity as sexual aggression and dominance.’ When the young unmarried woman is judged as a sexual sinner what is known about the dynamics of the sexual behaviour that led to this conception, maybe she was manipulated, coerced or forced? Regardless of the how, if she is pregnant the burden falls on her, only she can gestate this child and bring it into the world.
It is all too easy to locate sin in an individual’s behaviour, assuming that is that they had agency to act. Yet, as Cox argues, what about the wider community structures of sin. The culture that so many of us collude in. A culture that is quick to judge the failures of young mothers whilst doing little to campaign for change in the ways that they might be supported. She explores ideas of solidarity and conscience, questioning easy assumptions about sin that isolate individual acts from the wider societal sins of omission and prejudice. It is not just attitudes that need to change but laws, policies and ecclesial teachings that are shaped by prejudicial views about reproduction and women’s purpose.
I am writing this as a non-Catholic from a different country, where, although limited, there are resources to support single mothers. Yet, the questions about reproductive injustice and sin still resonate. I would push further on the ecclesial role in reproductive injustice. How do we evaluate the sin of omission that idealises motherhood as women’s primary vocation whilst failing to address the hard work involved, the many different costs – physical, emotional and financial – that women bear? How do we help young people navigate a world in which sex is portrayed as equating to pleasure, fulfilment and love if the message from the church is that it is primarily for procreation? Expectations of education, professional development and financial solvency push up the age of marriage meaning far longer periods of sexual continence need to be maintained. The question for many is: Why? Women’s sexual behaviour is judged differently to men’s; what is being done to challenge the structures of patriarchy that perpetuate such views? When a church proclaims that it is pro-life why are some children more welcome than others?
Cox’s call to communities that show solidarity and bear each other’s burdens is valuable. The recognition of our complicity it the social structures of sin is a necessary corrective to the locating of sin in an individual action. Children live in poverty, suffer neglect and abuse within our societies. The tendency is too often to judge the failings of the parents without looking at scales of deprivation, education and other kinds of available support. Yet, it can be difficult to offer support, making sure that it is not patronising and locating it in the right places. There is a risk of helping the ‘deserving’ single mothers who cross the threshold of our churches whilst being unable to change things for the many who don’t.
Reproductive injustice is perpetuated when women’s capacity to make choices is limited and when their moral capacity is questioned. From my perspective, maintaining that both contraception and abortion are sinful reduces women’s capacity to make responsible moral decisions about motherhood. Limiting access to reproductive health care including contraception and abortion, perpetuates economic and educational disadvantages shaped by the structural sins of inequality. When we assume they are mainly used by women enjoying a promiscuous lifestyle there is a lack of empathy for the complexity of lived experience. Research shows that financial concerns factor highly in abortion decisions. Campaigning for a world in which all children have what they need and mothers are supported through the months of pregnancy and early childcare would genuinely show a commitment to God’s gifting of children, even when unplanned. Educating young men to respect women, to eschew sexual aggression and manipulation is a necessary part of tackling reproductive injustice. Challenging the commodification of sex and the ubiquity of pornography is another area of work. Cox asks us to examine our consciences. Who benefits and who carries the burdens of reproductive injustice. Where do we locate sin? We need, as she says, to have a wider landscape and a more complex understanding of our complicity in sinful structures. We also need a capacity for compassion towards those whose ‘sin’ is visible and whose willingness to embrace the consequences is laudable.
Rev. Dr. Emma Percy is Senior Lecturer in Feminist Theology and Ministry Studies at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland). She writes on women’s leadership (especially in the church), motherhood, and care. She is currently writing a book for SCM ‘How do we talk about Abortion’ to be published in 2025. She is also researching the impact of migration on the church life of Aberdeen. She has been an Anglican priest for over 30 years, serving in Parish and Chaplaincy roles.
