By Braden Hamelin & Jillian Diamond
Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade and the almost 50-year precedent of national unrestricted access to abortion, women’s reproductive health rights have been one of the most important issues in state and national elections.
States across the country have been working to codify abortion rights and local Maryland Jewish organizations have been at the forefront of the fight to educate the community and protect abortion rights, especially in light of the upcoming election where abortion is Question 1 on Maryland ballots. If Question 1 is passed, it could decide whether the state will guarantee access to reproductive health care as a right.
“I feel like there is a need or a desire for more information [about abortion] because of Question 1,” said Rabbi Ariel Platt, the director of J Life at the JCC of Greater Baltimore.
“[Abortion is] definitely being spoken about much more [recently], because all of a sudden it’s affecting a lot of people. All of a sudden Jewish people are realizing they don’t know all the answers; more people are wanting to understand and know the Jewish perspective more.”
Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America is one of the organizations with a strong abortion rights advocacy campaign in Maryland. This is nothing new for the group, which has always been entrenched in the battle for reproductive rights.
The organization has released statements on the importance of preserving those rights as recently as July, when it published “Safeguarding the Whole Spectrum of Reproductive Health Care” in response to the vilification of birth control and IVF in the public sphere.
Harriet Rubinson, Hadassah’s vice president of advocacy for the Greater Baltimore region, said that Hadassah has been working in coalition with Baltimore-area synagogues and Jewish institutions to educate community members about not only the importance of reproductive freedom, but on Question 1.
One of these educational events took place at Chizuk Amuno Congregation on Sept. 22 and was co-sponsored by several local congregations.
“There are people who might be walking into the election booth and not be aware of what Question 1 is,” Rubinson said. “We try to help them with that. It’s not a candidate issue; it’s a ballot issue, so it’s not partisan.”
Hadassah has advocated for reproductive freedom for many years, but the advocacy-related and educational work that they and many other Jewish organizations are engaged in has become increasingly important after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“What I want to emphasize is that working in coalition on this issue has certainly come to a head after the Dobbs decision in the Supreme Court,” Rubinson explained. “It’s become especially important for Jewish people to understand that this is not only a threat to our reproductive rights and our bodily autonomy, but our religious freedom. … This is a First Amendment issue for us as well.”
Hadassah has worked with Jews United for Justice. While reproductive justice is not currently one of their main focuses, JUFJ has integrated the issue into its resources on voting in Maryland.
“We have signed on in support of efforts around Question 1 for the election, which would amend the state constitution to protect reproductive rights. As a part of this, we have included the issue in our voting guides and co-sponsored an event about reproductive justice through a Jewish lens,” said Matan Zeimer, JUFJ’s Maryland policy director.
The Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation of Baltimore also provided an educational session for their members on the status of reproductive rights across the nation and in Maryland with an Oct. 30 event. The event explained how the shifting landscape of reproductive health is impacting the health care resources for self-identifying women and girls while breaking down the topic through a Jewish lens.
“It’s a core tenet of Judaism to educate and to constantly be learning. It’s really amazing when different organizations really step up and try to create these wonderful programs that are open for people to really gain a better understanding of topics they might not be comfortable with or not [fully] understanding,” said Platt.
Platt was one of three speakers at the Oct. 30 event that included Meg Marx, the director of development at Planned Parenthood Maryland and Robin Kroll, a retired OB-GYN and member of JWFG.
Platt said that the speakers equipped attendees with information to familiarize them with the topic and the consequences depending on the results of the vote.
While the state and national elections are likely to have a major impact on the state of reproductive rights activism in the U.S., Rubinson clarified that advocacy work will continue to be important regardless of who is elected and where. The fight for abortion justice will not end simply because one candidate or the other is elected.
“Whoever wins in November, we’re going to continue to have to advocate,” she said. “It’s an uphill battle.”
