21 Feb
Uncategorized

Jews Support Both Life and Choice

By Steven Philp On Friday the House of Representatives passed a measure to suspend $330 million of Title X federal funding for Planned Parenthood on the grounds that tax dollars should not be granted to organizations that provide abortions. According to ABC News, votes were generally split along party lines: 240 to 185, with ten Democrats voting in favor of the bill and seven Republicans against. Debate concerning the measure was held the previous evening, including an emotional testimony by Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) about her personal experience with abortion. Responding to a graphic depiction of the procedure by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), Speier explained that she had elected for an abortion at 17 weeks. She continued, “For you to stand on this floor and to suggest, as you have, that somehow this is a procedure...

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08 Mar
Uncategorized

The Right to Choose

By Michelle Albert Last May, a 17 year-old girl in Utah paid a man $150 dollars to beat her up—kicking her in the stomach—in the hopes of inducing a miscarriage. The baby survived, and the assailant was sent to jail, reports the New York Times. Now, a bill criminalizing illegal abortion is waiting for Utah's governor's signature. On the surface, this seems redundant: An illegal abortion is a criminal act. Utah's laws define all abortions as illegal unless the health of the mother is at stake, the mother is a victim of rape of incest or the child would be born with serious defects. Any other reason, no matter how sensible it may seem to the mother, is illegal. The implications for such a bill are huge. Exodus 21:22 deals with violent abortions in a somewhat similar way: And...

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