“You have this really hateful minority in the culture that is so amplified, even though they don’t speak for most Americans or even most Christians.” But “even in a progressive congregation, people don’t feel entirely safe to talk to clergy about abortion,” she says.
She has preached sermons about the Christian case for abortion access, testified many times against restrictive legislation before the Texas government, written pro-choice op-eds, trained fellow pastors in how to talk about reproductive rights at church, and worn her clerical collar to protests. For the past eight years, as religious conservatives have cheered the ongoing erosion of abortion rights across the country, Fulbright has been part of a much less visible circle of progressive Christian pastors who speak clearly and openly in favor of women’s reproductive rights. And she has, in fact, walked the halls of Whole Woman’s Health in Austin, Texas, where she lives, praying for peace and safety for the patients and staff. If you ran into her on the street, you might assume, from her dangling earrings and asymmetrical bob, that she spends more time at the local food co-op than any church.
But Fulbright, who is in her early 40s, is not a stereotypical pastor. She knows that the stereotypical Christian pastor is far more likely to be imagined protesting an abortion clinic than blessing it. But never has a member of her church asked her to help them think through whether to end a pregnancy.įulbright gets it. They’ve asked her how to handle the sensitive communication required in polyamorous relationships. They’ve asked her what to do if you think you no longer believe in God. She has helped them figure out how to talk to their conservative families about being trans. She has talked with them about whether they should move cities or change jobs or go on birth control or divorce their spouse. Reverend Amelia Fulbright has helped her congregants navigate all sorts of questions in the 13 years she has been an ordained minister.