I haven’t yet talked about my faith on this blog. I’m a Protestant Christian, and I would say my faith doesn’t conform strictly to a specific denomination. But the reason I’ve decided to write about it on this mainly policy-focused blog is because of how my growing faith has begun to influence my political views.

I’ll be a little more specific.

Reading the Bible, attending Church and my high school ministry’s meetings, and reflecting through prayer have reinforced in me a belief in the sanctity of life.

This has compelled me to speak up even more on issues like the housing crisis, which has denied people dignified shelter, and the prison-to-homelessness pipeline, which illustrates how our society has left its most vulnerable behind. It’s also pushed me to take a more active stance against the death penalty, which, while not so prevalent a conversation in my local community, remains a national debate.

But some things have changed.

It’s also made me reevaluate certain beliefs I’d previously felt so strongly on. Firstly, on the right to abortion — as a girl, I’ve always upheld that women should have the right to make choices about their own bodies. In a lot of ways, I stand by that — but something is nagging at me now that makes it harder for me to unequivocally say I believe in a woman’s right to choose.

This shift in my beliefs is incomplete, because while I believe abortion is the taking of a life, I also believe a woman should have the right to choose in many specific situations. If you were to ask me now what I would recommend policy-wise, or even what my exact stance is, I couldn’t say. All I know is my faith has absolutely pulled me away from my strong stance on abortion, and that this shift was made on the same basis as that which strengthened my resolve in issues of housing, homelessness, and capital punishment — the sanctity of human life.