Friday Evening, Repro Shabbat Service

Temple Emanuel is a proud partner with the National Council of Jewish Women for #ReproShabbat, a unique opportunity for congregations and Jewish organizations around the country to gather and learn about the ways in which reproductive freedom is a Jewish value.  Join us on Friday, February 9 at 6:30 PM for this special service!

Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters is Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University and President-elect of the Society of Christian Ethics. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church USA, she is author of Trust Women: A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice, a clinic escort, a founding member of SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity), and serves on PPFA’s Clergy Advocacy Board. She is currently directing the Abortion & Religion project that is interviewing Jews, Christians, and Muslims having abortions across the country.

Abortion access is under a sustained and coordinated attack. Since 2011, anti-abortion state lawmakers have passed nearly 500 restrictions forcing providers to perform unnecessary tests, regulating the width of clinic hallways, or even banning abortion outright. These oppressive laws have severely reduced or eliminated abortion access in large segments of the country by increasing costs, decreasing efficiency and number of providers, and delaying procedures. They also fall hardest on those who already face structural barriers to accessing health care — including women; Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); those working to make ends meet; members of the LGBTQI+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities. Further, an individual’s power to make their own, faith-informed decisions is obstructed when they are required to receive inaccurate or misleading information or clinically unnecessary services like ultrasounds, in-person counseling, and waiting periods.