RALEIGH, N.C. — President Joe Biden recently signed an Executive Order to help women travel over state lines for abortions, as some states are putting restrictions in place following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

What You Need To Know

Pastor Michael Woodard’s church supports people fighting on the frontlines of the anti-abortion movement

Imam Muamar Dahnoun says within Islam a woman can get an abortion up until the four-month mark of her pregnancy

Rabbi Jenny Solomon, who believes abortion care is part of health care, wants to be a guide for her community

With the midterm elections less than three months away, reproductive rights are proving to be a top issue for voters. Faith leaders in North Carolina have their perspectives on the debate.

Michael Woodard is a mortgage professional and a pastor. Though his Bible is always nearby, he doesn’t need it to know where he stands on abortion.

“I believe that we have to fight for life, and that we have to fight for the unborn, and we should be on the frontline, trying to defend and help save the lives of those who cannot speak for themselves,” Woodard said. “The Bible tells us clearly, that we should open up our mouths for those who have no voice.”

Woodard says the Bible expresses it all in black and white. His church in Wilson, the Grace Church Church of God in Christ, supports the Happy Warriors. They’re the people you might see standing outside a clinic, hoping to deter women seeking abortion care. Woodard shares a story about a pregnant woman his church says it helped.

“She had second thoughts about having the procedure. And they were able to talk with her … she decided to keep her child,” Woodard said. “They immediately contacted our church … we got in contact with her, she began to start coming to the church. We helped her along through the process. We did a big baby shower for her. We had a big gathering for her. She was there up until the time she gave birth to that child. And there’s a beautiful child now, happy, bouncing baby that’s around by the name of Jeremiah.”

Woodard says he wants abortion to be banned in every state. Imam Muamar Dahnoun of the Islamic Association of Raleigh disagrees.

“Islam is a very balanced religion, and it has a very balanced point of view pertaining to abortion,” Dahnoun said. “And this balanced way does not go to any of the extremes. It values a mother’s life and a choice, and it values also a baby’s life. Life begins in the Islamic views after four months, which is after 120 days, which allows a mother to decide if she wants to abort such fetus before the 120 days passes for a legit reason, whether it's rape or incest or whether whatever medical reason, Down syndrome.”

If doctors say a Muslim woman’s life is at risk after the four-month mark, she can get an abortion.

“This is unanimous among scholars of the Islamic faith, with no disagreement, that the mother’s life take absolute precedence over the baby’s life. Mother’s life is more precious than the baby’s life,” Dahnoun said.

Dahnoun says he’s asked about abortion on a weekly basis by members of his congregation. His job is to be a guide. The same goes for Rabbi Jenny Solomon of Beth Meyer Synagogue.

“We really don’t have a set of laws that are very rigid or binary about what is OK, what isn’t OK,” Solomon said. “My job as rabbi is to help people make some of the most wonderful and some of the most difficult decisions in their lives, and we have so much respect for the complicated nature of life.”

Solomon helps members of her community cope with pregnancy-related trauma, including abortion, in the Jewish ritual bath known as a mikveh.

“We’re here in this space really to dedicate time and attention, and sanctity, and spirituality to new beginnings, but also to endings,” she said.

Solomon says in Judaism life begins at birth. She is a mother to three children, and this is personal. She’s had to deal with miscarriage and says abortion rights are critical to women’s health care.

“We believe that access to safe abortion is not only part of reproductive health, but it’s part of health care,” Solomon said. “And we believe in medical expertise and health care because that’s a human right, and it’s a Jewish right.”

Abortion remains legal in North Carolina, for now. Top Republican lawmakers say they may take up abortion legislation next year. And they hope to gain a supermajority in the November midterm elections to override any veto attempts by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.