Abortion rights are a religious freedom issue: A Jewish perspective | Opinion

The news leaked from the Supreme Court recently is a seismic moment in America, and we find ourselves in a liminal space.

The question about abortion is indeed a Jewish question for all of us Jewish-Americans for whom our Jewishness and Americanness is intertwined. It’s an embodied question for some and a rights and obligations question for others.

Each faith celebrates and honors its own interpretation of scripture and sacred text; that is the strength and beauty of our diversity, and it provides the lens through which each of us sees the world. But there are times when one faith’s interpretation directly challenges another’s.

The issue of when life begins is a perfect example.

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Doesn't America's religious liberty apply to all faiths?

America is founded upon the principle of religious freedom. There is no doubt that faith informs each of our views on a variety of subjects, but that’s exactly what they are — personal views, not something for everyone else to comment, or legislate, on.

Are we prepared to live in an America that is not based on religious freedom? In a nation founded as a well-spring for all faiths, races, and creeds, do we really want to allow for one religious group to prescribe rules and decisions for all based on one particular interpretation of scripture?

When people of faith seek to adopt laws asserting when life begins, they endeavor to enshrine their own religious understanding in law.

The argument that abortion is murder is strong for those whose religious beliefs inform that life begins at conception. And yet, so often our feelings about political policy are inconsistently informed by our religious beliefs.

Can one be against abortion but for capital punishment?  Who has the right to take away life? Whose religious beliefs govern American society?

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Why access to abortion is a Jewish value

For American Jews, the protection of access to abortion could also be understood under the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion clause.

Because Jewish law permits abortion under certain circumstances as a morally acceptable choice, or even in some cases as a legal requirement, any law that limits an individual’s right to choose might limit a Jewish person’s ability to make a decision in accordance with their religious beliefs.

The Jewish community overwhelmingly agrees with the need to protect abortion access. Polls show that 80% to 90% of Jewish Americans believe that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

Access to abortion is a Jewish value because it is essential health care. The concept of pikuach nefesh, of saving a life, is fundamental to Judaism. The treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is abortion.  The treatment for a septic uterus is abortion. The treatment for a miscarriage that your body won’t release is abortion. If a woman cannot get those abortions, she dies. She. Dies.

Fundamentalist religious views do not reflect those of most Americans, but instead, represent one extreme interpretation of one religion and leave no room for other beliefs. We must lift up the voices of people of faith who advocate for reproductive health, rights, and justice not in spite of their religion, but because of it.

In doing so, we preserve the spirit of religious freedom envisioned by our founding fathers and enshrined in our Constitution.

Rabbi Laurie Rice serves Congregation Micah, Deborah Oleshansky is communications director of the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and Rabbi Shana Mackler serves The Temple.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Abortion is a religious freedom issue: A Jewish perspective