Jewish Community Joins Effort to Ban Partial-Birth Abortion

By Liz Townsend

Over 70 rabbis joined the fight against partial-birth abortion by adding their names to a statement condemning the gruesome procedure as against the basic tenets of their faith. The statement, which has appeared as an advertisement in several Jewish newspapers, includes an "open letter to U.S. senators" that asks the senators to vote to override President Clinton's veto of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

"[A]ccording to Jewish law, once the head of the baby emerges, the child is considered a person equal to the mother and cannot be aborted, even to save the mother's life," the statement reads. " Since partial-birth abortion involves the delivery of most of the baby's body before it is aborted, Jewish law prohibits this procedure except in the rarest of circumstances."

"This historic action represents the first time that a significant part of the American rabbinate has made its voice heard in opposition to a practice which is clearly prohibited by Jewish law," said Chris Gersten, president of the Institute for Religious Values, the sponsor of the ad. "This is the first time since Roe v. Wade that there has been any organized effort in the Jewish community on behalf of legislation designed to reduce abortion."

Rabbis from the three branches of Judaism - - Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox - - signed the statement, which describes the partial-birth abortion procedure, explains why it violates Jewish law, and calls for citizens to tell their senators to vote to override Clinton's veto. The Institute for Religious Values organized the ad after the Catholic Campaign for America, which has sponsored anti-partial-birth abortion efforts in Catholic churches, asked Gersten if the Jewish community could get involved in the issue.

"It has struck a nerve in the Jewish community," Gersten said. "We were initially hoping for a few rabbis to sign the statement, but it just mushroomed. A lot of rabbis are fed up with the Jewish community being seen as 'pro-choice' when there are many members who are against abortion."

Requests for participation were sent to 300 rabbis around the country, who were asked to respond by faxing back their signature. About 70 signatures were collected in time for the ad to be published, but responses are still being received at the Institute for Religious Values, and the number has grown to 75.

The rabbis also sent comments supporting the statement. "I view this statement as an important change in the attitude of the American rabbinate on this difficult and contentious issue," said Reform Rabbi Marc Gellman, who is known nationally as co-host of the cable television program The God Squad. "I am thankful that the moral as well as the ritual voice of our tradition is finally being heard in the public square."

"The message of the Torah is one of life," said Orthodox Rabbi Daniel Lapin, chair of Toward Tradition, which assisted the institute in organizing the ad. "To sanction something so heinous as partial-birth abortion is proof of a culture of death standing in marked opposition to the Torah's ethic of life. We cannot and should not continue to sanction such an act of barbarism."

"Partial-birth abortion is absolutely wrong," said Conservative Rabbi Marc Birnbaum of New York City. "The dilation and extraction method of aborting is tantamount to infanticide."

The Institute for Religious Values hopes to sponsor a conference with the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law this fall to discuss how the Jewish community can continue to work with the Pro-Life Movement in the future. Gersten said the goal is to "communicate not just to Jews but to the pro-life movement in the Evangelical and Catholic churches to let them know the Jewish community is not just militantly pro-choice. There is a strong tendency in the Jewish community to work to reduce the number of abortions."

For more information on the Institute for Religious Values and the rabbis' statement, contact Chris Gersten by e-mail at gersten1@aol.com.