10 | JULY 7 • 2022 

PURELY COMMENTARY

will jeopardize the well-being of our 
students and professionals, particularly 
those of limited economic means and 
those in states where legal abortion 
will now be unavailable. As the largest 
global organization supporting Jewish 
students, today we are focused on 
doing just that: supporting students and 
creating a safe and caring environment 
both for them and for the Hillel 
professionals who serve them. 
“Our tradition teaches that our most 
sacred obligation is the preservation of 
human life, and we’re dismayed that this 
ruling will make it more challenging 
to fulfill that promise for the students, 
professionals and community members 
we serve. In the weeks and months 
ahead, we will continue to focus on 
providing resources to our students and 
professionals to support their health 
and well-being, especially those in states 
where the ruling has an immediate 
impact.” 
 
THE WORKERS CIRCLE 
STATEMENT IN RESPONSE 
TO THE SCOTUS DECISION 
“The Workers Circle expresses outrage 
at the reprehensible decision in Dobbs 
v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization 
handed down by the Supreme Court. 
Six out of nine judges, each appointed 
for their hostility to constitutional 
rights — particularly abortion rights 
— struck a blow to democracy by 
overturning the protection Roe v. 
Wade has guaranteed for nearly 50 
years. The right to bodily autonomy is 
foundational to democracy and human 
rights. Today’s decision eliminates the 
constitutional protection of that right. 
This opinion will hurt many millions 
— disproportionately impacting low-
income Americans — and it is a setback 
in our fight for freedom. We pledge to 
continue to fight for a democracy that 
guarantees equality, rights and dignity 
for all.
“As we all process this decision, I urge 
you to find strength and inspiration 
from our proud Jewish tradition of 

resistance and resilience. Our ancestors 
faced and stood up to similar attacks on 
their rights and to their safety. 
“Today, the fight is in our hands. 
There is only one way to respond to 
the ongoing erosion of everyone’s civil 
liberties and human rights, and that is 
to fight for the freedoms that brought 
our ancestors here.” 

STATEMENT OF MAZON: A JEWISH 
RESPONSE TO HUNGER
Abby J. Leibman, president and CEO of 
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, 
said:
 “Today’s decision by the Supreme 
Court is reprehensible and egregious. 
The right to choose whether to have 
an abortion is not only a matter of 
reproductive freedom — it’s a matter 
of economic justice. Justices Breyer, 
Sotomayor and Kagan wisely point out 
in the dissent that above all others, 
women lacking financial resources will 
suffer from today’s decision.
“Grounded in our Jewish values, 
we know that all people are B’tselem 
Elohim, created in the image of God. 
This includes women, girls and other 
pregnant people, who, through today’s 
decision, have lost autonomy over their 
bodies and their lives. 
“No one who has been affected by 
the war on women — perpetrated by 
fundamentalist conservatives — is 
surprised to see this happen. But we are 
no less horrified, outraged and resolved 
to fight for what we know is right at all 
levels of government.”

IN SUPPORT OF THE RULING

AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA 
STATEMENT ON THE SCOTUS 
DECISION
“Today, the Supreme Court of the 
United States overruled Roe v. Wade, the 
1973 decision establishing a woman’s 
constitutional right to abortion. Agudath 
Israel of America welcomes this historic 
development.
“Agudath Israel has long been 

on record as opposing Roe v. Wade’s 
legalization of abortion on demand. 
Informed by the teaching of Jewish law 
that fetal life is entitled to significant 
protection, with termination of 
pregnancy authorized only under 
certain extraordinary circumstances, we 
are deeply troubled by the staggering 
number of pregnancies in the United 
States that end in abortion.
“We do not seek to impose our 
religious beliefs on the broader 
American society. We are of the view, 
however, that society, through its 
laws, should promote a social ethic 
that affirms the supreme value of life. 
Allowing abortion on demand, in 
contrast, promotes a social ethic that 
devalues life.
“To be sure, there are certain 
extraordinary circumstances where 
our faith teaches that a woman should 
terminate her pregnancy. Agudath Israel 
fully supports her right to abortion 
in such situations, both as a matter of 
constitutional free exercise and moral 
principle. However, it must be reiterated 
that these cases are indeed extraordinary, 
rare exceptions to the rule that fetal life 
is entitled to protection.
“We pray that today’s ruling will 
inspire all Americans to appreciate the 
moral magnitude of the abortion issue 
and to embrace a culture that celebrates 
life.”

THE COALITION FOR JEWISH 
VALUES STATEMENT
“Judaism regards all human life as 
sacred, including when a fetus is 
yet to be born. Jewish law permits 
abortion only in truly extraordinary 
circumstances. This does not describe 
the situation in America today, where 
the overwhelming majority of abortions 
are done as an elective procedure.
“The dialogue needs to change: if 
everything is a human right, then, in the 
end, nothing remains worthy of special 
protection. We must return to a society 
that cherishes human rights and human 
life.”

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