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Christian abortion provider DeShawn Taylor prays with patients at her Phoenix clinic

9h

Summary

  • Dr DeShawn Taylor, 51, runs the Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix, the only Black woman-owned abortion clinic in Arizona.
  • Taylor and some of her staff are Christian women who pray with religious patients and tell them God gives people free will.
  • She founded the clinic in 2013 and sold it to her nonprofit at the end of 2023; it also offers gender-affirming care and gynecological services.
  • On 6 February, an Arizona judge struck down state laws requiring an ultrasound and a waiting day before abortion; by mid-March the clinic saw about 10 services a day.
  • In 2017, an anti-abortion group released edited undercover footage of Taylor, who later published books on being Christian and pro-abortion.

Reactions

  • Dr DeShawn Taylor said she does not think abortion is a sin, and that even if it is, God is forgiving already.
  • Loretta J Ross of Smith College said Taylor is special for putting her career and license on the line, calling such doctors heroes of the movement.
  • Lauren Beall, a former ACLU of Arizona attorney, said many in the Arizona legislature still seek to restrict abortion despite voters approving the amendment.
  • Regina Mahone, co-author of Liberating Abortion, said Taylor's role as a Black abortion provider is significant given the racist origins of anti-abortion propaganda.
  • Dr Carole Joffe said Taylor is unique for writing about her experiences, making her a spokeswoman for people of faith providing abortions.
  • Dr DeShawn Taylor called the religious objection to abortion BS, saying she sleeps fine at night in her Christian beliefs.

Timeline newest first

  1. On 6 February, an Arizona judge struck down state laws requiring abortion patients to receive an ultrasound and to wait at least a day.
  2. After the repeal, appointments at the Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix settled to about 10 services a day by mid-March.
  3. Earlier in the year, Dr DeShawn Taylor published the workbook Beyond Choice, connecting spiritual beliefs with reproductive choice.
  4. After the supreme court's 2022 Dobbs decision, Arizona restricted abortion; two years later Arizona voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution.
  5. Dr DeShawn Taylor sold the Desert Star Institute for Family Planning to her nonprofit at the end of 2023 so it could receive grants.
  6. Dr DeShawn Taylor published the book Undue Burden: A Black, Woman Physician on Being Christian and Pro-Abortion in 2023.
  7. In the spring of 2017, the Center for Medical Progress released edited undercover footage of Dr DeShawn Taylor at a Planned Parenthood conference.
  8. Dr DeShawn Taylor founded the Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2013.
  9. More than seven years before the article, a patient asked Dr DeShawn Taylor to pray for her before an abortion, a turning point for the clinic.

Sources newest first

  • The abortion doctor who leads with her faith: ‘God is forgiving’theguardian.com· 9h

    A Guardian profile of Dr DeShawn Taylor, the Christian physician who runs the Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix — the only Black woman-owned abortion clinic in Arizona — tells how she prays with patients and reassures them that God gives people free will. The article also traces Arizona's shifting abortion laws after Dobbs and the history of faith communities on both sides of the issue.