Rabbi Birdie Becker
  • Home
    • Blogs and Videos
    • Rabbi In The News
  • Services and Fees
    • Tutoring Policies
    • REFERENCES
    • Contact Form
  • Prayer Practice
  • Music
  • Conversations at the Well
    • Teaching Supplement: Conversations at the Well
  • Jewish Calendar: Basics
    • High Holidays
    • Chanukah
    • Tu B'Shevat
    • Passover/Pesach
  • Israel
  • Non-clickable Page

513 Jewish Clergy Leaders Express Support for the Women’s Health Protection Act

2/26/2022

0 Comments

 
Proud to have signed the National Council of Jewish Women's Letter from Clergy

Dear Senators: 
As Jewish clergy leaders from across the United States representing all major denominations of Judaism, we write to express our strong and unequivocal support for the Women’s Health Protection Act and urge the Senate to pass the bill.
In partnership with the National Council of Jewish Women, we represent a network of over 1,500 Rabbis and Jewish Clergy for Repro who have pledged to speak out about abortion justice in our communities and to educate others about the Jewish values underpinning our support for abortion access for all. We work to ensure that our communities are places where anyone who has, or may ever, terminate a pregnancy feels loved and welcomed, where people understand what our tradition teaches about these issues, and where we emphasize the importance of fighting for reproductive health, rights, and justice for everyone.
The Women’s Health Protection Act embodies this mission and our hope for a future where all are free to make their own moral and faith-informed decisions about their lives, their futures, and their families without political interference. It is profoundly unjust that abortion bans and restrictions fall hardest on those already facing barriers to exercising their human rights — including Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); those working to make ends meet; members of the LGBTQI+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities.
In Judaism, we consider pikuach nefesh, the saving and preserving of life, to be one of our most critical principles. We affirm that protecting the existing life of the pregnant person is paramount at all stages of pregnancy. In Judaism, a fetus does not have the same personhood status as one who is already living and functioning in the world, up until and into the onset of labor and childbirth (Mishnah, Ohalot 7:6). The Talmud (Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 69b) asserts that the fetus is “mere fluid” for the first 40 days (from conception; that which would be considered 7 or 8 weeks’ gestation by today’s counting) and, following this period, the fetus is regarded as a physical part of the pregnant individual’s body (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 23b).
This is why we understand the goal of the Women’s Health Protection Act — ensuring equal access to abortion nationwide — not only as an abortion justice issue and a core social justice issue, but as a matter of religious freedom as well. The US Constitution demands that no one religion should be enshrined in law or dictate public policy on any issue, including abortion.
Policies granting “fetal personhood” rights or establishing that “life” begins at conception are contrary to the teachings of our tradition and violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause by enshrining one religious view into law. What’s more, because Jewish law not only permits abortion in many cases but also requires it when the life or health (including psychological and physical health) of the pregnant individual is at risk, laws limiting or restricting access to abortion directly impede Jews’ ability to practice Judaism, further violating the Free Exercise Clause while simultaneously infringing upon the constitutional right to privacy found in the Fourteenth Amendment.
We need federal legislation now more than ever. With the passage of SB 8 in Texas and the strong possibility that the Supreme Court will overturn or significantly gut the protections of Roe v Wade this year, and over 100 new abortion bans passed in 2021 alone, there is more at stake now for reproductive and religious freedom than has been in fifty years. The Women’s Health Protection Act would create a new tool for safeguarding access to high-quality care and securing constitutional rights by protecting patients and providers from political interference. The bill guarantees providers the right to deliver abortion care — and people the right to receive that care — without limitations that single out abortion or impede access to care. Notably, the bill would also establish clear guidance for courts considering whether a requirement impedes access to abortion care in violation of Women’s Health Protection Act.
We call on the Senate to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to protect access to abortion and to help us build a society where all can participate equally and thrive in our communities with dignity and freedom.


Respectfully, 

To see signers go to:
https://www.ncjw.org/news/513-jewish-clergy-leaders-letter-support-whpa/#


0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    9/11
    Abortion
    Acceptance
    ADL
    Akeida
    Anti Semitism
    Anti-Semitism
    Apartheid
    Bds
    Blessings
    B'nai Mitzvah Poem
    Broken Heart
    Cancer
    Caretaker Blog
    Carl Levin
    Chanukah
    Civil Discourse
    Civil Rights
    Community
    Congressional Funding
    December Dilemma
    Dominion Over The Earth
    Dor L' Dor
    Ehud Barack
    Environment
    Eulogy
    Forgiveness
    Gaza
    Gratitude
    Gun Control
    Hallel
    Hameitim (hamatim)
    Health Care
    High Holidays
    Holocaust
    Human Rights
    Human Rights Council
    Hunger
    Immigration
    Invocation
    Iron Dome
    Israel
    Jewish Council For Public Affairs
    Justice
    Kabbalat
    Kaddish
    LGBTQ
    Link In Chain
    Love
    Lulav And Etrog
    Memories
    Middot
    Miracles
    Mi Sheberach
    Mourning
    Mussar
    Occupation
    Palestinian Aid
    Palestinians
    Paris Climate Accords
    Passover
    Pay Equality
    PCUSA
    Pesach
    Politics
    Prayer
    President Obama
    Pres.Obama
    Purim
    Reb Zalman
    Reproductive Health
    Rocket Attacks
    Security Wall
    Seder
    Separation Of Church & State
    Service
    Shabbat
    Shema
    Shofar
    Steve Sheffey
    Stress
    Sukkot
    Teshuva
    Tikun Olam
    Together Colorado
    Tu B'Av
    Tzedek
    Tzedek Terdof
    Uahc General Assembly
    United Nations
    U.S. And Israel
    U.S. Presidents And Israel
    V'Haya Im Sh'moa
    Violence
    Voting
    Women's Rights
    Women's Rights
    Women's Rights
    World Council Of Churches
    Wow Women Of The Wall
    Yahrzeit

    RSS Feed

    I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment. To subscribe to this blog leave your email at RSS FEED.

    Author

    Community educator, choreographer, composer, performer, Becker, M.S.W., M.Ed., M.R.S., Ph.D., serves as rabbi for Temple Emanuel-Pueblo, cellist for Apples and Honey and is a Storahtelling Maven.

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    April 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012


    FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ISRAEL
    https://www.standwithus.com/
    http://www.standforisrael.org
    http://unitedwithisrael.org/

    WOMEN OF THE WALL http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/12/22/world/middleeast/100000001969698/women-at-the-western-wall.html
Proudly powered by Weebly