Or Shalom's Statement on the Supreme Court's Ruling on Reproductive Rights

Today, we express our grave concern, disappointment, and grief caused by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion. We join in solidarity with the Union for Reform Judaism, the Religious Action Center, the Women's Rabbinic Network and many other Jewish organizations in acknowledging that our religious tradition has consistently striven to protect the reproductive rights and the life of a person in need of an abortion, and we will continue to do so.

We are grateful to live in a state where these protections are still granted, and we must acknowledge the extra responsibility to protect these rights on our local level. Also, we commit to being a community that will do all we can to support a person in need of access to abortion who may live in a place where there is currently no access. We have heard from a few people who want to create such support and advocacy networks at Or Shalom. If you wish to join in those efforts, please email Rabbi Ari and Jen Daniels-Lake, so we can put you in touch with one another. 

As the Women's Rabbinic Network stated, "People who have the physical power to create, nurture, and give life also have the power to decide when and if it is the right time to do so." It is up to us in new ways now to be able to make sure this statement can still be true. 

Rabbi Ari Margolis

Jeremy Seaver, President