Talmud Class: What If The Supreme Court Reverses Roe v. Wade?

In general, we like to say that we don’t do politics at shul. We teach Torah. We try to teach and to live Jewish values. There are other places where divisive politics can be discussed and debated. Let the shul be a political-free zone.    

Does that paradigm apply now? After all, immediately after news of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion came out, the Rabbinical Assembly (RA), the union of Conservative movement rabbis, immediately, strongly, and unambiguously came out with a robust statement criticizing this opinion:     

"The RA is deeply troubled by reports that the Supreme Court will soon nullify the constitutional right to abortion. Reproductive freedom is again under assault, this time from the highest court in our nation. The RA supports full access for all those who need abortions to the entire spectrum of reproductive healthcare and opposes all efforts by governmental, private entities, or individuals to limit or dismantle such access."    

What is particularly striking, and noteworthy, is that the usual Jewish rule—two Jews, three opinions— does not apply here.  What time do we pray the evening prayer, the Talmud’s first question. There are three answers. Should a woman be able to get an abortion where “continuation of a pregnancy might cause severe physical or psychological harm, or where the fetus is judged by competent medical opinion as severely defective.”? The answer in our movement is yes.

What does that call on us to do now?