The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is distancing itself from an interfaith brief it signed that urges the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a woman’s right to decide whether or not to have an abortion.
According to Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, a brief his group signed as a member of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council wrongly implies that the Orthodox Union supports “absolute freedom of reproductive choice.”
NJCRAC is writing to the Supreme Court “to correct any possible misunderstandings,” according to a statement issued by the umbrella group.
The brief in question was filed last month. It asked that the Supreme Court strike down a controversial Missouri law that, if upheld, would severely restrict a woman’s right to an abortion in that state.
It also asked the court to uphold Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision that affirmed a women’s right to an abortion. The court heard oral arguments on the Missouri case last month.
The brief argues that since different religions have contrasting views on abortion, “state statutes drastically curtailing access to abortion unacceptably interfere with constitutionally protected religious and private conscience.”
NJCRAC admitted, in a statement, that a “last-minute revision” of the brief might be understood as implying that the Orthodox Union had taken a more “liberal approach” on abortion than had other Orthodox groups.
“We’re willing to accept the fact that there was simply a misunderstanding and that’s all there is,” said Stolper.
Jewish law permits and even requires abortion under certain circumstances rejected by many “right-to-life” groups, including a threat to the life of the mother.
But Stolper said his group cannot accept that abortion on demand is a fundamental right.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
