DC Synagogue posts sign supporting abortion rights

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A D.C. synagogue is jumping into the abortion rights debate, following the overturning of Roe vs. Wade by the U.S Supreme Court.

Temple Michah Synagogue in Georgetown posted a sign outside its temple saying, “Abortion Access is a Jewish Value.”

Rabbi Samantha Frank justified the posting of the sign, saying it is a “well-established aspect of Jewish law-making that the life of the pregnant person outweighs the life of a fetus.”

Frank pointed to a specific verse within Exodus in the Torah (as well as the Bible) in which a man hits a pregnant woman causing her to fall. If in the course of the fall, the mother loses the baby, then the perpetrator would be required to monetary damages. If the woman is killed, he would have to pay for a “life for a life.” 

“It is pretty well established in texts shared across Jewish dominations that the right to an abortion is foundational to religious freedom,” Frank said in an interview with DC News Now.

Temple Michah is just one of many synagogues expressing their views on abortion rights.

In Florida, Congregation L’Dor Va-Do is suing the state over its restrictive abortion ban, saying it violates the First Amendment by infringing on their right to freely exercise their religion.

 The congregation’s lawsuit states that the Florida law violates Jewish religious beliefs holding that abortion “is required if necessary to protect the health, mental or physical well-being of the woman,” among other reasons.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic, Israel announced it was easing abortion access restrictions.

“The move by the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a woman the right to her body is a dark move,” said Israel’s Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz in a statement. “We are somewhere else, and we are making great strides in the right direction today.”