Donald Trump speaks at a news conference in Las Vegas, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, to endorse Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, center, accompanied by Romney's wife Ann. (Gerald Herbert - AP) GOP candidate for president, Mitt Romney, has refused to repudiate Donald Trump, though the reputed billionaire continues to promote “birther” fantasies, the idea that President Obama was not born in the United States.

Romney’s apparent rationale for continuing to associate with Trump is “I need to get 50.1 percent or more and I’m appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people.”

On May 28th this year, we observed Memorial Day, a day to remember and honor those who have died in service to our nation. But on this year’s Memorial Day, I also reflected on other brave souls who died in another service: to their faith. May 28th has a special significance not just for me and the tens of millions of members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community worldwide. It is also a day of significance for all peace-loving and just people who desire equal human rights and a world that is free from religious and other persecution.
Muhammad Munawar prays at the grave of his slain son, 17-year-old medical student Waleed July 14, 2010 in Chenab Nagar, Pakistan. Seventeen-year-old Waleed was murdered in the May Lahore attacks on the Ahmaddi mosques (Daniel Berehulak - GETTY IMAGES)

A recent On Faith column, ‘A Prayer for Abortion?’, isn’t a full accounting of how people of faith consider women’s health issues.

As the chair of the Planned Parenthood Clergy Advisory Board, I work with faith leaders from all different traditions and backgrounds. We strongly believe that women and men are moral agents, able to make their own decisions about their reproductive needs.

I also understand that for many women, abortion is a deeply personal and complex decision, often influenced by their faith and background.

My faith plays an integral part in my own thoughts and feelings about abortion. Over time, these feelings have transformed from judgment to love as I matured in my spirituality.

My mother, a secretary in a maternity ward, used to tell me stories about women dying from complicated pregnancies because they were told that it was a sin to have an abortion, even if it meant saving their lives.

Our sacred texts and traditions teach us that women have the right to take care of their bodies. So when I graduated Yale Divinity School in 1991, I made the decision to support women as a core part of my ministry.

I took a job as a counselor in an independent clinic that performed abortions. I remember the daily protests outside my office window. For many women coming to the clinic, it was a difficult situation to face.

It pains me now to hear that many women across the country are facing similar situations when they need access to health care. It seems like every day lawmakers are trying to limit access to care, putting women’s health at risk.

Like in Virginia, where the governor recently signed a bill that mandates doctors perform pre-abortion ultrasound procedures that may not be medically necessary and could force a woman to make two trips if she needs an abortion.

Connie Hoffman holds American Flags as she listens to Mayor Bob Vanlandingham during Memorial Day services Monday, May 28, 2012 at the Wabash County Courthouse in Wabash, Ind. (Rob Edwards - AP) Every evening at 8 o’clock, police halt the traffic at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ieper (Ypres), Belgium, so buglers can honor the memory of those soldiers who headed out for the front and never returned. With the exception of the German occupation during World War II, the Last Post ceremony has taken place uninterrupted since 1928.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews take in the view from Citi Field at a meeting to discuss the risks of using the Internet on May 20, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Mario Tama - GETTY IMAGES) The Mets might not be selling out Citi Field, but the Orthodox Jews did. Just a few days ago, more than 40,000 Orthodox Jewish men and boys filled the stadium for a gathering intended to consider the dangers of the Internet - dangers to their souls.