When the Supreme Court, also known as SCOTUS, failed to uphold Roe vs Wade, they made a mockery of our Constitution. They did this by violating religious freedom. SCOTUS violated the religious freedom of Jewish women in our nation. Under Jewish Law, women are entitled to an abortion as part of their faith.
Judaism on Abortion: How SCOTUS Violated Religious Freedom
The Jewish faith believes in preserving the mother’s life over the fetus’. So, if the mother’s life is in danger, the fetus should be aborted to save the mother. This includes when the mother’s mental health is at stake. By allowing states where Jewish women reside to place complete bans on abortion, SCOTUS violated religious freedom. This is because women who are guaranteed the right to abortion by their faith have been denied access to that healthcare. There are several reasons for Judaism’s stance on abortion in The Torah, the Jewish sacred text.
Abortion In The Torah
Creation
One reason Judaism is less strict about abortion is found in Genesis 2. Genesis 2:7 tells us, “7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Thus, life does not begin and a human does not become a living being until the breath of life enters their lungs. This means that a fetus is not a human until it takes its first breath. Before the fetus is born and takes its first breath, it is a growth in the mother.
Theft or Murder
A lesser-known, but equally important verse, is found in Exodus. Exodus 21:22-25 reads:
“22 When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. 23 If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
This means if the woman miscarries only a fine should be imposed. However, if she dies then the attacker must be put to death. These verses clarify that The Torah understands the fetus to be property. However, the wife who is already born, is considered a human life. To kill the fetus is to rob the man of his property, but to kill the woman is murder. Therefore, abortion is not murder.
G-d Ordered An Abortion
Finally, the only place abortion is explicitly mentioned in the sacred text is Numbers 5. In Numbers 5, G-d orders that an abortion be performed, by the high priest, if a woman has been unfaithful to her husband. The text goes into very detailed instructions for testing the woman. If she has been faithful the fetus will live, but if she has been unfaithful the fetus will die when she drinks the bitter herb. Therefore, G-d supports abortion when it will save a marriage or family.
Jewish Law: How Scotus Violated Religious Freedom
So far the laws discussed in this article have been biblically based and are mostly based on the idea that a fetus is not a child until breath. However, in modern times Rabbis have struggled with the idea that at a certain point in the pregnancy organs and limbs are formed and the fetus is more viable.
They have answered that even if the fetus is considered a human after the first 40 days, any pregnancy that threatens the mother’s life either physically or mentally should be terminated. The reasoning is that the “child,” in this case, would fall under the law of a rodef, pursuer. A rodef is a person who is trying to murder another human. A rodef should always be killed to save the victim’s life, according to Jewish law. Therefore, any pregnancy which threatens the mother’s life should be ended.
SCOTUS Violated Religious Freedom
So, SCOTUS has violated religious freedom, by denying Jewish women the right to pursue their faith. If a Jewish woman is pregnant with a child which threatens her physical or mental well-being, her faith tells her to end the pregnancy. However, SCOTUS made it so that her state could imprison her for following her faith. This is a direct violation of Jewish women’s right to practice their faith. This is contradictory to everything The US stands for because this country was founded by those seeking religious freedom. Therefore, we must fight! We must make SCOTUS understand that their ruling violates the Constitution. Please take time and sign the petition below, because our democracy is at stake. Click here to sign!
Sign the Pledge — Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund (kyrff.com)
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