After the Supreme Court’s ruling to remove the constitutional right to abortion, the US Catholic theologian Jessica Coblentz tweeted: “I know many Catholic women; I’ve been in communication with several today. Not one – not one – is ‘welcoming’ or ‘celebrating’ the overturning of Roe. And so I ask, esp of Catholic men: Please listen. Listen” (@JessicaCoblentz). Her tweet was met with a barrage of insults by those claiming to represent “real” Catholics. But Coblentz speaks for many of us.

My work with Catholic women’s networks around the world has offered me many opportunities for dialogue about abortion. Most of us occupy a nuanced position, crushed between two monolithic politico-religious absolutes. On the one side are pro-choice progressives who regard bodily autonomy and individual rights as non-negotiable; on the other are anti-abortion conservatives who regard the right to life of the unborn child as trumping all the rights of the woman or girl who carries it.