If Delawareans need a reminder that the fight over reproductive rights is also a fight over church-state separation, they should look at the debate surrounding a proposed constitutional amendment.

Senate Bill 5 is a strong, sensible step forward. It would enshrine reproductive freedom in the Delaware Constitution, as many progressive states have done, and ensure that decisions about pregnancy remain where they belong: between patients and their doctors. In a post-Roe landscape where abortion rights have become fragile and uneven, state lawmakers need to provide new, more permanent protections for the right to bodily autonomy.

Supporters of the bill have emphasized real-world consequences. They have talked about patients denied emergency care, families navigating devastating complications and doctors forced to weigh medical judgment against legal risk. They have framed the issue the way it should be framed, as one of healthcare, patient rights and evidence-based policy.

But the opposition to SB 5 takes a very different approach.

At a recent hearing on SB 5, an opponent warned lawmakers that any right to abortion must yield to “the law of Christ, which our constitution stands pale next to.” Another cited scripture as governing authority, invoking Psalm 139 and Romans 13 to argue that the government should enforce their interpretation of divine will. And one opponent accused supporters of wanting to “enshrine abortion on the altar of worship and sacrifice to the devil,” even adding for good measure, “May God have mercy on your souls."

This is not policymaking; this is sermonizing.

It is worth pausing on the specific texts being invoked. Romans 13 has a long and troubling history in American political life. Defenders of slavery used it to demand obedience to unjust laws. It was later invoked to justify segregation, was invoked in President Donald J. Trump’s first term to justify family separation, and was even cited earlier this year by House Speaker Mike Johnson to defend border policies against papal criticism. Appeals to that passage have consistently been used not to advance freedom, but to resist it.

Psalm 139, likewise, is not the benign, feel-good verse it is often presented as in political settings. The same psalm that speaks of being “fearfully and wonderfully made” also calls on believers to hold a “perfect hatred” for those who oppose God. It is telling that so many opponents turn to Psalm 139 to justify their “life begins at conception” dogma, since the Bible does not actually address abortion at all.

The good news is that lawmakers do not need to resolve these scriptural disputes, because they should never legislate based on their personal religious beliefs in the first place. To uphold their oath of office, lawmakers must respect the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom for everyone. That means if they can’t give a secular justification for something, they should not be legislating it.

When lawmakers base policy on religious belief, they are not simply expressing personal convictions; they are imposing those convictions on everyone else, including people who do not share them. That is precisely what the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause is meant to prevent.

Approaching SB 5 with nonnegotiable demands rooted in personal religious doctrine is fundamentally un-American. When that happens, it is incumbent on other lawmakers to stand up for the separation between state and church, and refocus the discussion on neutral, secular criteria.

Compare the righteous fury described above with the arguments for SB 5, which respect the reality that people hold different beliefs about pregnancy and abortion. Instead of attempting to resolve those differences through coercion, the bill creates a framework that allows individuals to make their own decisions in consultation with medical professionals.

Delaware lawmakers now have a clear choice. They can elevate religious doctrine above constitutional rights, or they can uphold a system of government that serves everyone. They should choose the latter and pass SB 5. The bill needs to pass the House, and then both chambers again next session before becoming effective.

As this important constitutional amendment moves forward, it offers more than just protections for reproductive freedom. It offers a model for how legislators should approach difficult issues, not by quoting Scripture or appealing to divine authority, but by relying on evidence, respecting individual rights and recognizing that in a diverse society, the law belongs to all of us.

That is the standard Delaware should meet – and one lawmakers everywhere should follow.