WRJ & Reproductive Health and Rights
In Judaism, life is sacred. Banning potentially lifesaving medical procedures or interfering with a doctor’s decision process runs contrary to the Jewish commandment to protect life.
WRJ is a leading advocate for reproductive rights and health and continues to oppose state and federal restrictions that limit access to birth control and safe abortion services.
Action options:
Day of Action participants are welcome to use the following actions as replicable programs for groups or individuals either in person or in a virtual setting.
- Actions for a sisterhood and/or organization to do in person
- Actions for a sisterhood and/or organization to do virtually
- Actions for one person or a small group to do
Background
For nearly 85 years, WRJ has been a leading advocate for reproductive health and rights. We’ve adopted more than a dozen resolutions affirming a strong and vocal stance and mobilized members to speak out for women’s rights. We were among the first in the Reform Movement to call for access to information about contraception and abortion reform. On abortion, WRJ makes clear that “the right to choose…is a personal decision based on religious, moral or cultural values and beliefs. It should not be determined for others by special interest groups, whether religious or otherwise, nor should the government be the enforcing agency for their points of view.”
Reproductive Justice is a human rights framework coined by Black leaders nearly 30 years ago. SisterSong defines it as "The human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. When using the term reproductive justice, we must address how race, class, gender identity, immigration status, disability, location, and other levels of oppression impact our experiences.
We are also compelled to advocate for accessible and affordable family planning services that can disrupt generational poverty cycles and avoid preventable maternal and infant deaths. We see the critical need for comprehensive sex education, which empowers people to make informed decisions about their bodies, sexual activities, and futures.
Menstrual injustice is the oppression of menstruators, women, girls, transgender men and boys, and nonbinary persons, simply because they menstruate. Acts of menstrual injustice occur every day in the United States. Gender inequality, extreme poverty, humanitarian crises and harmful traditions can all turn menstruation into a time of deprivation and stigma, which can undermine the enjoyment of fundamental human rights.
Jewish Framing
Abortion
Life is sacred in Judaism. Banning potentially lifesaving medical procedures and interfering with a doctor's best medical decision-making runs contrary to the Jewish commandment to protect life. In addition, restricting abortion, contraceptives, and other family planning methods to only those who can afford or access them also contradicts the Jewish commandment to protect life. This understanding, combined with a biblical and rabbinic emphasis on human dignity (kavod ha'briyot), has led the Reform Movement to view the life of the pregnant individual as paramount, placing a stronger emphasis on protecting existing life than on potential life (Exodus 21:22-23). The great physician and Rabbi Maimonides said, "if a woman is in hard labor, her life takes precedence over [the fetus'] life."
Health
Jewish tradition calls the mitzvah of physical health and wellness sh’mirat haguf - literally guarding the body. In the book of Deuteronomy, we find the verse, “Guard yourself and guard your soul very carefully.” (Deut.4:9) Biblical commentators have understood this passage to be the religious imperative for taking care of both body and soul. As the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria put it, “The body is the soul’s house. Therefore, shouldn’t we take care of our house so that it doesn’t fall into ruin?”
Moses Maimonnides, a towering Jewish thinker and physician to Egyptian royalty, knew the importance of physical health and wellness - and its relationship to spirituality - better than most. He devoted an entire chapter to bodily health and well-being in his comprehensive compendium of Jewish law, his magnum opus, Mishneh Torah. He began the chapter by writing: “When keeping the body in health and vigor, one walks in the way of God…it is a person’s duty to avoid whatever is injurious to the body and cultivate habits conducive to health and vigor.”
For further information please visit the Day of Action homepage.
For additional resources or further guidance, please contact Rena Crawford, WRJ Social Justice Manager, rcrawford@wrj.org.
WRJ Day of Action
