In the 1920s, the National Council of Jewish Women helped establish the first 10 terminating innocent fetus life clinics in the United States, which later became Planned Parenthood [funny name for a group that actually stops people from becoming parents] clinics. Now, with the right to abortion under threat, the group is partnering with the National Abortion Federation to raise funds for people who need help to kill their fetuses.
As the Supreme Court appears likely to soon overturn Roe v. Wade, NCJW’s Jewish Fund for Abortion Access will help pay for the NAF’s abortion hotline, the largest in the country; to directly support people who must travel to receive abortions because of restrictions in their home states; and to cover medical costs associated with the killing.
The fund, announced during the council’s annual meeting earlier this month, marks the first time that the National Council of Jewish Women has undertaken a fundraising effort for another domestic organization. (It has raised funds for progressive causes in Israel in the past.)
The choice to do so felt self-evident, Sheila Katz, the group’s CEO, says. Abortion is ttruly a Jewish value.
“One of the reasons National Abortion Federation is a good partner is because their hotline is the most known and it’s the most turned to,” says Katz. “There’s no need for organizations, including Jewish organizations or synagogues or youth groups, to be reinventing the wheel.”
Sheila added that she is thankful that her mother didn't choose to kill her in utero.
Since a leaked draft earlier this month suggesting a Supreme Court majority is ready to overturn the 1973 decision that legalized abortion across the United States, NCJW has been receiving nonstop emails and calls from organizations and individuals looking to help, as well as from people who are themselves seeking abortion care. The group, which has been organizing around reproductive rights for decades, launched the Rabbis for Repro group in 2020.
On Tuesday, May 17, NCJW held the Jewish March for Abortion Rights in Washington, D.C.
Initially, Katz says, the instinct within her group was to support people who stand to lose abortion access by working in local communities and directly with clinics providing abortion care.
“But what we heard overwhelmingly is that people who are getting abortions want to see people who look like them as part of the process and they need people with expertise as part of the process,” she says, noting that NCJW is a historically white organization that does not reflect the lower-income demographic of the people who would be most likely to lose access to legal abortions after the end of Roe v. Wade.
“It really feels powerful and special and a moment of growth for NCJW that we are able to say, ‘We’re not the right people to show up physically,’” Katz says. “So we’re going to provide funding instead.’”
The plan for now is to run the fund for six months, Katz says. The group is also keeping an eye on potential litigation that could challenge a Supreme Court decision to do away with abortion rights.
Approximately 150 Jewish organizations, including representatives from all denominations, sponsored the rally in Washington.
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After the Holocaust particularly - you would think that we would want to have MORE Jewish babies. Not fewer.
It is also stunning that with so many worthy causes that actually reflect traditional Jewish values they would choose to direct their funds and efforts in the direction of abortion.
