Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

There are and will be many events in response to the threat to reproductive rights established in Roe vs. Wade 50 years ago. For Kansas residents, an initiative on the ballot August 2 would amend the Kansas Constitution. If this initiative passes, the Kansas Legislature would have the ability to take away the right to an abortion.

A number of states are poised to take away that right if, as expected, Roe vs. Wade is officially overturned. If voters vote no in Kansas, it will be one of the few states in this part of the country that would still provide crucial reproductive-health services for women, particularly women of color and low-income women.

The anti-choice legislation in many states violates Jewish law, or halakhah. Jewish law proscribes that abortion is legal for any reason or no reason at all in the first 40 days after conception. While this hardly affords a woman sufficient time to make a choice, it does establish that in Judaism, life doesn't begin at conception. Also, right up until the baby crowns, the health of the mother takes precedence over the fetus.

There will be many opportunities to get involved with this issue, including rallies and voter-registration and phone-bank events. Look for notices via Planned Parenthood and Kansans for Constitutional Freedom.