The Brainerd Friends Monthly Meeting is engaged in an ongoing process for discernment regarding access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care following the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. While we continue our process for discernment, we feel led to: 

 ● Acknowledge that reproduction is deeply personal and that, as every individual is unique, every situation is unique. From this acknowledgment, we infer that nobody is better-positioned to make informed decisions about abortion than the pregnant individual. Our Meeting will support all individuals and any decisions regarding reproductive care. 

 ● Call for medically accurate, up-to-date, age-appropriate reproductive health education for all children and adults. 

 ● Call for expanded access to modern family planning tools including, but not limited to condoms, hormonal birth control pills, intrauterine devices, injectable birth control, and emergency contraception (the “morning-after” pill). 

 ● Make more readily available and encourage the use of early pregnancy testing as well as prenatal care and screening to ensure individuals can make informed decisions as early as possible. 

 ● Be welcoming to and hold compassion for all individuals engaging with these concerns as we continue this process for discernment.  

Further, we reaffirm the moral obligation and social imperative of the Society of Friends and our broader communities to support babies and children throughout their lives.

Adopted as a Minute by the Brainerd Friends Monthly Meeting on 03/12/2023