History
Established
in 1989, the Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (MNRCRC) is
an affiliate on the National Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice,
dedicated to supporting reproductive freedom for every person.
The National
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice grew out of the informal network of
clergy willing to help women find safe abortions prior to Roe vs. Wade. In
1973, it became known as the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR). MNRCRC
was originally recognized as the Minnesota
project of the national Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR/MN).
In 1991, RCAR/MN was accepted as an
affiliate of the national organization, and in 1992 RCAR/MN incorporated as a
non-profit. In 1993, the national organization broadened its mission and
changed its name to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. In
February 1994 we changed our name to the Minnesota Religious Coalition for
Reproductive Choice to reflect our broadened mission.
We launched
the All Options Clergy
Counseling Service for volunteer clergy willing to counsel women
experiencing problem pregnancies in 1992. In 1993, we hosted our first biennial
Faith and Freedom Award dinner to honor individuals who have distinguished
themselves in their faith-based dedication to reproductive freedom and abortion
rights.
In 2002 we
began to implement the culturally and religiously appropriate curriculum Keeping It Real!, developed
by RCRC to teach comprehensive sexuality education to African American teens.
In 2003-2004 the Keeping
It Real! Program expanded to include Breaking the Silence courses for parents.
In 2006, MNRCRC
developed Faith and
Choices, a curriculum that allows congregations to have respectful
conversations about reproductive choice. That same year, we expanded our
promotion of faith-based comprehensive sexuality education by promoting and
training leaders in the Our
Whole Lives curriculum.
