8 | JULY 7 • 2022
PURELY COMMENTARY
upon which our country was built.’
“I stand with Dr. Imershein, Rabbi
Pass and all who will be profoundly
impacted by this decision.”
CONSERVATIVE RABBIS STRONGLY
CONDEMN U.S. SUPREME COURT
DECISION
“For over five decades, the Rabbinical
Assembly has strongly and repeatedly
affirmed the halachic necessity of access
to abortion based on our members’
understanding of relevant biblical and
rabbinic sources and teshuvot — rabbinic
responses — and fiercely opposed efforts
that would limit access to abortion
or stifle reproductive freedoms in the
U.S. In response to legislative efforts
that threatened reproductive freedom
in 2021, the Rabbinical Assembly
(RA), the international association for
Conservative/Masorti rabbis, passed
a Resolution on Right to Legal and
Accessible Abortion in the United
States. Following the U.S. Supreme
Court decision to overturn its previous
landmark cases, Roe v. Wade and Planned
Parenthood v. Casey, effectively nullifying
the Constitutional right to abortion for
millions of Americans, the RA issued
the following statement:
“The RA is outraged by the decision
of the U.S. Supreme Court to end
the Constitutional right to abortion
and deny access to lifesaving medical
procedures for millions of individuals
in the U.S., in what will be regarded as
one of the most extreme instances of
governmental overreach in our lifetime.
“Many Americans now face a dire
crisis. Many more face uncertainty.
This is a dangerous time for all people
who are capable of becoming pregnant,
especially those in categories who
have poorer maternal outcomes and
particularly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous,
People of Color) people or those of
lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
For individuals living in rural areas
or in states that will jump to further
restrict abortion, this decision is
truly life-threatening. For American
Jews and those of other faiths, this
decision is a restriction on our religious
freedom. For people who fall into the
intersections of all or most of the above,
our personhood has been rejected by
the highest court in our nation.
“The Committee on Jewish Law and
Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly
has repeatedly affirmed the right of a
pregnant person to choose an abortion
in cases where ‘continuation of a
pregnancy might cause severe physical
or psychological harm, or where the
fetus is judged by competent medical
opinion as severely defective.’ This
position is based on our members’
understanding of relevant biblical and
rabbinic sources, which compel us to
cherish the sanctity of life, including the
potential of life during pregnancy, and
does not indicate that personhood and
human rights begin with conception,
but rather with birth as indicated by
Exodus 21:22-23.
“Based on our understanding of
Jewish tradition and religious freedom,
The RA supports the right to full access
for all those who need abortions to
the entire spectrum of reproductive
healthcare and strongly opposes all
efforts by governmental, private entities,
or individuals to limit or dismantle
such access. Denying individuals
access to the complete spectrum of
reproductive healthcare, including
contraception, abortion-inducing
devices and medications, and abortions,
among others, on religious grounds,
deprives those who need medical
care of their Constitutional right to
religious freedom. Imposing civil
and criminal consequences for clergy
assisting their constituents as guided
by halachah deprives our members of a
fundamental element of clerical practice
incompatible with Jewish values.
“There will continue to be legislative
battles in the United States on both
the federal and state levels that pose
existential threats to reproductive
freedom, especially so-called ‘heartbeat’
bills, which violate the foundational
principle of separation of church
and state. The Rabbinical Assembly
emphatically opposes all such laws
and legislative or executive moves and
instead calls on members of Congress
to decisively codify Roe v. Wade into law
to enshrine the right to health, freedom
and dignity for all Americans.”
HADASSAH STATEMENT IN
RESPONSE TO SUPREME COURT
DECISION
Hadassah president Rhoda Smolow
and CEO Naomi Adler today made the
following statement:
“The Supreme Court’s decision is
an attack on American women and
their rights to health care, privacy and
autonomy. Without federal protection
for their rights, women across the
country could now be barred from
making their own health decisions
under a patchwork of inconsistent state
laws. Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist
Organization of America, reaffirms
its unwavering support for full and
complete access to reproductive health
services and the right to make decisions
based on each woman’s religious, moral
and ethical values. Hadassah will
continue to fight for federal and state
legislation affirming and protecting
reproductive rights.”
HILLEL INTERNATIONAL
STATEMENT ON SUPREME
COURT’S DECISION ON ABORTION
Hillel International, the world’s largest
and most inclusive community serving
Jewish students at more than 850
colleges and universities, issued the
following statement:
“Today is a painful and distressing
day for many Americans and Jewish
students across the country who believe
that each American should have the
right to make personal decisions about
pregnancy and abortion in a way that
is informed by their own beliefs, values
and needs.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to
eliminate the constitutional right to
abortion is at odds with Jewish law
and practice, which prioritizes the life
of the pregnant person. The decision
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