Katherine Hancock Ragsdale (born c. 1959) is an American Episcopal

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

based in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and former president and dean of

Episcopal Divinity School The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is a theological school in New York City that trains students for service with the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. Students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican st ...

. Before becoming dean she was director of Political Research Associates from May 2005 through June 2009. From September 2018 to October 2021, she was Interim President and CEO of the

National Abortion Federation The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers. NAF members include private and non-profit clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, women's health centers, physicians' offices, and hospitals who together ...

Biography

She is an

American progressive Progressivism in the United States is a political philosophy and reform movement in the United States advocating for policies that are generally considered left-wing, left-wing populist, libertarian socialist, social democratic, and environmentali ...

, and was a priest at St. David's Episcopal Church in Pepperell, part of the

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. History Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bisho ...

. Ragsdale has served for 17 years on the national board of the

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) is an abortion rights organization founded in 1973 by clergy and lay leaders from mainline denominations and faith traditions to create an interfaith organization following ''Roe v. Wade'', t ...

. She is also on the board of

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

The White House Project The White House Project was an American non-profit organization, which worked to increase female representation in American institutions, businesses, and government. Its main programs focused on female leadership and campaign training and the po ...

, the Progressive Religious Partnership, as well as the bi-national advisory board of the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence. She presented to the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

on behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice in 2004. She was named president and dean of

on July 1, 2009. Her appointment was criticized by religious conservatives, including Anglicans, who have been particularly critical of her endorsement of the "blessing" of abortion. She is the editor of ''Boundary Wars: Intimacy and Distance in Healing Relationships'' and the author of numerous articles, including ''The Role of Religious Institutions in Responding to the Domestic Violence Crisis'' and ''Hannah'', a short story. She contributed an essay titled "Not by Outrage Alone" to the 2008 anthology ''Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America'' She is openly lesbian. On January 1, 2011, she married the Rev. Mally Lloyd at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. Bishop M. Thomas Shaw performed the ceremony.

External links

Hannah
a short story. *
Sermon
to the

, 1997
The Supreme Court Returns to the Abortion Debate
comments at a Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life forum in 2006 *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragsdale, Katherine Hancock American Episcopal priests American abortion-rights activists 1950s births Episcopal Divinity School faculty Living people Lesbians LGBT Anglican clergy Women Anglican clergy LGBT people from Massachusetts

Biography

See also

External links

References