General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsReligions don't agree on abortion. That's why some faiths plan to take their case to court.
Some activists devastated by the Supreme Court's decision ending a constitutional right to abortion are turning to a new tactic: Bring God onto their side of the fight.
They're planning to file religious-freedom lawsuits, hoping to use either state or federal courts to reinstate their rights, which they say are being violated by conservative Christians who've forced their theocracy upon others as a de-facto national religion in the fight against abortion rights.
While conservative Christians typically oppose abortion, many other Christians and many other faiths recognize the right of women to protect their lives from a dangerous pregnancy.
In Judaism, the religion's foundational religious texts generally conclude life begins when a baby is born. And some Muslim schools of belief also permit abortion to protect a mother's life.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/religions-don-t-agree-on-abortion-that-s-why-some-faiths-plan-to-take-their-case-to-court/ar-AAZFjux
Diamond_Dog
(32,047 posts)Banning abortion goes against freedom of religion!
MacKasey
(992 posts)As far as I am concern the first amendment says there will be no laws based on religion
crickets
(25,982 posts)Hekate
(90,779 posts)SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)so I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
My question would be if a religion allows abortion but doesn't require abortion, is it a violation of religious freedom to deny it?
An admittedly inelegant example of this line of thinking would be say that my religion allows - but doesn't require - me to smoke pot. If pot is banned in my state, is it a violation of my religious rights?
634-5789
(4,175 posts)Then what the hell good are birthdays?
LetMyPeopleVote
(145,496 posts)Under Jewish religious law, it is clear that life begins at birth and there is no prohibition in the Torah on abortion. According to my Rabbi, the life of a fetus is only potential life and the life of the mother is more important than the life of a fetus. Alito's proposed opinion elevates Christian beliefs over Judaism.
Link to tweet
https://jezebel.com/jewish-leaders-banning-abortion-is-absolutely-a-violat-1848885645
Coalitions of Rabbis across different sects of Judaism and a contingent of Jewish abortion activists are defending Jewish pregnant peoples right to abortion access, raising what they claim is a valid legal challenge: A national abortion ban would violate their right to religious freedom as guaranteed by the First Amendment. And as the right to bodily autonomy for women and pregnant people is threatenedlargely impacting low-income Black and brown peopleby conservative justices arguments that we should simply rewind to the good old years when women didnt have any rights because, you know, some 17th century witch-hunter said so, Jewish communities are putting their foot down to say, Not in my religion.......
For evidence, Rabbi Ruttenberg points to the Book of Exodus in the Torah, which discusses a case where two men accidentally knock over a pregnant person and cause them to miscarry:
When men fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other harm ensues, the one responsible shall be fined when the womans husband demands compensation; the payment will be determined by judges. But if other harm ensues, the penalty shall be life for life.
The Hebrew Bible, she says, does not regard the fetus as a person, for the Torah doesnt specify how long the woman has been pregnant when the miscarriage happens. Another annotated text states, If she is found pregnant, until the fortieth day it is mere fluid, meaning the fetus does not have agency for at least forty days of pregnancy. For that reason, some interpretations of Jewish law say that personhood begins with the first breath. Its not murder, basically, and the Talmud lays that out really explicitly, she says.
I like the idea of a lawsuit filed on the basis of the First Amendment. Alito's draft opinion favors conservative christian theology over the faith all all or most Jews.