June 13, 2024 - In response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine rejecting an attempt to remove mifepristone from the market, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch, Executive Director of Women of Reform Judaism, released the following statement:
"We applaud the Supreme Court's decision striking down a challenge to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulation of mifepristone. By ruling that the plaintiffs lack legal standing to sue the FDA, the Court has allowed mifepristone, a medication with a 99 percent safety record, to remain on the market. The removal of mifepristone would have hindered access to abortion for millions across the country, particularly in states where abortion is otherwise banned or extremely restricted following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.
"Medication abortion accounted for roughly 63 percent of all abortions in 2023. For many, a medication abortion is more accessible than a procedural abortion, and in states with total bans it may be the only safe option. Had the Court removed mifepristone from the market, people would have been forced to cross state lines and incurred significant costs to obtain abortions - a burden that would have fallen most heavily on People of Color, low-income individuals, people with disabilities, people in rural areas, and other marginalized groups that already face barriers to abortion care.
"Judaism teaches that life is sacred and places the life of a pregnant person above the potential life of a fetus. We are told, 'If a woman's labor becomes life threatening, the one to be born is dismembered in her abdomen… for her life comes before the life of the fetus' (Mishnah Ohalot 7:6). Judaism also teaches that we have an obligation to seek and receive healthcare, to care for the bodies and souls that God has entrusted to us. Our Jewish tradition also instills in us the importance of kavod ha'briyot , respect for individual dignity; impeding access to abortion is a violation of this core value. We were proud to sign an interfaith amicus brief in this case, emphasizing the need to preserve access to medication abortion.
"Even as we welcome this decision, we note that the Court did not affirm the merits of medication abortion, but rather ruled on the technical question of the plaintiffs' standing to bring the case. It is essential that we continue to work to protect abortion access, including medication abortion, to ensure that future challenges, potentially by plaintiffs with stronger standing to bring such cases, are also turned back by the Courts.
"We urge Congress to make abortion access the law of the land by passing legislation such as the Women's Health Protection Act and the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act. Together, the RAC and WRJ will also continue to mobilize Jewish communities across the country to support abortion access ballot measures in the 2024 election through the Reform Movement's Every Voice, Every Vote Campaign."
###
The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose 825 congregations across North America encompass 1.8 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 2,000 Reform rabbis. Visit RAC.org for more.
Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) is a network of Jewish women working together to empower women and communities worldwide through the bonds of sisterhood, spirituality, and social justice. WRJ, founded in 1913, is the women's affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism. Visit WRJ.org for more.
Media Contact
Laura Frank
