SCOTUS Should Suspend the Texas “Fetal Heartbeat” Law

We are gravely concerned about the decision of the Supreme Court to permit the Texas “fetal heartbeat” law to take effect.  This legislation permits private citizens to sue physicians that perform abortions six weeks after conception and threatens to deprive women in Texas of essential health care.  We recognize and teach that there are a variety of halakhic positions regarding the permissibility of abortion and we respect each rabbi and every Jew to hold to the position they believe to be correct; as a consequence we hold that each woman is entitled to the legal space to act in accordance with what she sees as the correct opinion.

The diverse opinions of Judaism regarding abortion require the freedom to make choices.

That the law uses the mechanism of private lawsuits suggests a strategy to circumvent the regular process of judicial review.  This tactic endangers more than the right to make medical decisions and we fear that if this law is not quickly examined more mischief will follow.  As a minority, Jews are particularly vulnerable when the judicial branch is silent.

We ask the Supreme Court to suspend the Texas legislation until there can be a full review.