Women's Autonomy Is Not a Biblical Value

In the wake of the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, many Christians have gone to their Bibles. Some in joy as they celebrate. Some for comfort as they worry about what comes next. Others for ammunition as they heckle abortion rights protestors. And religious challenges to the ruling have already surfaced, including a lawsuit brought by a Jewish synagogue. Yet, as feminist biblical scholars in the US, we've turned our attention to a different group: progressive Christians who point to their scriptures to ground their feminist, pro-choice commitments. In our judgment such arguments risk reinscribing patriarchal assumptions and norms. And such arguments based on the Bible are also likely to fail, given that the autonomy of women is not in fact a biblical value.