NCJW, Reform mark Roe v. Wade

By · January 22, 2008

Jewish organizations marked 35 years since Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

The National Council of Jewish Women called on supporters to campaign against rollbacks of the decision in the intervening years.

“We must prevent the appointment of any more judges to the federal bench who are selected for their anti-abortion views and far right-wing credentials,” said an NCJW statement issued Tuesday, alluding to last year’s Supreme Court decision that upheld bans on late-term abortion.

That ruling was made possible by two Bush administration appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.

“We must repeal the Hyde amendment, which since 1977 has prevented federal funds from paying for abortions, as well as the ‘global gag rule’ that bars family planning programs abroad that receive federal funds not only from performing abortions, but from even talking about abortion as an option,” the statement said.

The Reform movement’s Religious Action Center also noted such rollbacks. Its statement called on Congress “to reaffirm a woman’s essential right to choose by passing the Freedom of Choice Act, which will prohibit the federal or state governments from denying or interfering with a woman’s reproductive rights.”