What does faith look like when it trusts people instead of trying to control them?

The Rev. jessica young chang joins The Abortionfluencer Podcast for a conversation about reproductive chaplaincy, moral agency, abortion without shame, and the sacred work of simply staying present. Jess accompanies people through abortion, miscarriage, infertility, pregnancy, parenting, and other reproductive experiences — without judgment and without an agenda.

Together, Colleen and jess challenge conservative Christianity’s “single story” of faith and ask what becomes possible when people are trusted as the authorities on their own bodies. They also talk about queer identity, interracial marriage, white supremacy in American churches, and why reproductive justice cannot be separated from economic, racial, housing, ecological, and climate justice.

There is theology. There is righteous anger. There is hope as a spiritual practice. And, despite close proximity to an ordained Christian minister, Colleen the “open-minded Atheist” leaves the conversation entirely free of “religious goo” (jess’s term!). 

In this conversation

• How jess’s paths through theater, writing, yoga, healthcare, and ministry converged in reproductive chaplaincy

• Why abortion belongs in conversations about faith and reproductive justice

• Separating shame and fear from reproductive decision-making

• Taking the Bible seriously without taking it literally

• The body as a site of the sacred

• Accompaniment as an alternative to control: listening, reflecting, affirming, and staying present

• Christian nationalism and the danger of allowing one narrow story to define an entire faith

• Queer identity, interracial marriage, and creating an “us space” without erasing either partner

• The work white Christians and white congregations must do to confront white supremacy

• What a young person facing an unexpected pregnancy most needs to hear

• Why reproductive justice touches every other movement for justice

About Rev. jessica young chang

Rev. jessica young chang is a writer, storyteller, reproductive chaplain, and United Church of Christ and community minister. Her work centers embodiment, story, relationship, spiritual care, and reproductive justice. She currently serves as Interim Associate Minister at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Columbus, Ohio.

• Rev. jessica young chang’s website (https://www.adevotedyogi.com/)

• Rev. jessica young chang on Instagram, @revjessyc (https://www.instagram.com/revjessyc/)

• Rev. jessica young chang’s First Congregational Church staff profile (https://www.first-church.org/staff/rev-jessica-young-chang/)

Mentioned in the podcast

• First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ — Columbus, Ohio (https://www.first-church.org/)
• Rev. jessica young chang’s Aug. 30, 2026 sermon/service (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SnmkzZ8aDo&t=1824s)
• All-Options Talk Line — 1-888-493-0092 (https://www.all-options.org/find-support/talkline/)
• Faith Aloud Spiritual Care Line — 1-888-717-5010 (https://www.all-options.org/find-support/faith-aloud/)
• SisterSong’s definition and history of reproductive justice (https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice)
• Loretta J. Ross (https://lorettajross.com/)
• The Life I Built campaign (https://msmagazine.com/thelifeibuilt/)
• Shout Your Abortion (https://shoutyourabortion.com/)
• James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7753/the-fire-next-time-by-james-baldwin/)
• W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/408)
• Cornel West (https://www.cornelwest.com/)
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story” (https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story)
• Charlotte Kasl, If the Buddha Married: Creating Enduring Relationships on a Spiritual Path (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/332916/if-the-buddha-married-by-charlotte-kasl/)
• Chicago Women’s Health Center (https://www.chicagowomenshealthcenter.org/)
• SACReD: Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity (https://www.sacreddignity.org/)

Content note: This episode discusses abortion, pregnancy loss, infertility, racism, anti-LGBTQ+ hostility, Christian nationalism, and religious shame.

Subscribe to The Abortionfluencer Podcast wherever you listen so you don’t miss upcoming episodes!

Follow my ongoing pregnancy criminalization and Forced Birth Industrial Complex investigative work at The Abortionfluencer Files on Substack:
(http://theabortionfluencer.substack.com)