Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer: A Previvor’s Perspective
Contemporary Reflection on Parashat Noach
The Hyde Amendment at 37: An Unhappy Birthday
Thirty-seven years ago today, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, prohibiting federal dollars from funding abortion, mostly through Medicaid. The law as it stands contains exceptions for cases of rape, incest and life endangerment of the mother. It was passed in response to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade (1973), which legalized abortion in the United States.
The Hyde Amendment is not permanently on the books – it is attached to appropriations bills (a “must-pass” bill) as a “rider” that affects the funding for the Department of Health and Human Services. Since 1976 when it was first passed, it has had damaging effects as the women who receive their health coverage through Medicaid, Medicare and military women serving at home and abroad are often unable to access safe, legal and affordable abortions. In Harris v. McRae (1980), the Supreme Court upheld the Constitutionality of the Hyde Amendment, and decided that states that participated in Medicaid were not obliged to contribute funds for abortions deemed medically necessary for which reimbursement from the federal government was blocked under Hyde.
Voices of WRJ: Bereshit
Hachnasat Orchim - Welcoming the Stranger
Voices of WRJ: Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot
The Difference of 23 Cents: Gender-Based Wage Discrimination Continues
Yesterday, the US Census Bureau released new data on the wage gap between men and women in the United States from 2012. American women are on average, making 77 cents to every dollar a man makes, unchanged from last year. This figure has not budged over the past decade.
The numbers are frustrating on their own. But this inequity goes beyond the numbers and has real and serious affect on women and families and basic costs of living: food, housing, education, and retirement. Reform Jews in North America have been active on the issue of women’s economic justice for more than thirty years, but there is still so much more work to be done.
Selections from The Torah: A Women's Commentary: Sukkot 2001
Lifting Our Voices and Urging the Senate End Workplace Discrimination for the LGBT Community on September 17th
For many years, Women of Reform Judaism, alongside the Reform Movement, has been dedicated to ensuring that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals enjoy the rights they deserve as people and as citizens. These rights include but surely are not limited to equal access to civil marriage and all the related federal protections, protection from sexual orientation and gender identity-based, bullying and hate crimes, and at this crucial juncture, employment discrimination.
Voices of WRJ: Yom Kippur
We are in the midst of the High Holy Days-the days of awe, the days of repentance. Kol Nidre is upon us! As each of us sit in our seats with our respective congregations throughout North America and beyond, we will read our beautiful liturgy, we will listen to the haunting melody of Kol Nidre and we will have an opportunity to reflect and repent for our transgressions of the past year. So I begin my Shabbat message to all of my dear friends at WRJ, and I want to sincerely apologize if I have in any way hurt you and truly ask for your forgiveness.