The Central Conference of American Rabbis is alarmed by the cascade of new state laws intended to end reproductive liberty. While the most draconian measures, signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia and Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama, are the most blatant attempts to end abortion rights altogether, we also oppose the bevy of laws adopted in other states to limit or effectively end access to abortion.
The CCAR lifts up our own resolution on reproductive justice, a powerful Resolution released this week by our constituent group, the Women’s Rabbinic Network, and this comprehensive statement from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, which detail the historical and contemporary Jewish stances on abortion and the status of the fetus. See also the comprehensive review of Jewish law on abortion from the Freehof Institute on Progressive Halakhah. We will not review these matters here, except to reaffirm that Judaism has never accorded personhood status to the fetus.
Reform rabbis are particularly concerned about the fate of financially vulnerable women in the affected states, as well as the fates of gender non-conforming and transgender people who may become pregnant. Restricting abortion rights to those who can afford to travel out of state is a grotesque violation of reproductive justice. We stand with abortion providers, who bravely make a safe, legal medical procedure available, often and increasingly under perilous circumstances.
Reform rabbis would not seek to impose Judaism’s position on these matters upon our nation and state. We reject the adoption of other religions’ stances into law, which is a violation of the First Amendment prohibition of the imposition of a state religion. The CCAR calls on federal courts to prohibit enforcement of these laws, and on the Supreme Court to reaffirm the reproductive rights promised in our Constitution, clarified in Roe v. Wade.
Rabbi Ronald Segal
President
Rabbi Steven A. Fox
Chief Executive
Rabbi Hara E. Person
Chief Executive-Elect
Central Conference of American Rabbis