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In 55 days, Americans across the country will go to their polling places and decide who will be the next President of the United States. Many people have deemed this November the most important...
A month ago, I tempted you with a taste of current fiscal policy (warning: please read Sequestration Part 1 before this, or you will be very confused, not to mention less informed!).
We hear a lot these days about the war on women, about the slew of crucial issues affecting women and their health and rights. It’s hard to tell who’s “winning” this war – or if calling it a “war”...
Rabbi David Saperstein spoke yesterday at the Washington Times 30th anniversary symposium titled “Symposium on Values and Consequences,” where he was joined by Sister Dr. Deirdre Byrne (Little...
In response to Rush Limbaugh's comments that Georgetown University student and birth control advocate Sandra Fluke is a "slut" and "prostitute" as well as his follow up remarks that she (and oth...
Yesterday morning, Rabbi David Saperstein stood with other leaders from the Washington Interreligious Staff Community (WISC) at a press event launching the 2013 Faithful Budget. The Faithful Budget...
Recent weeks have brought the issues of birth control, health care, and other reproductive rights into the forefront of our country’s political debates. In the background of these debates is a...
I know I’ve already written here about the Violence Against Women Act: I’ve written that 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year; one in four women in the...
As we were enjoying the long weekend at barbeques or on the beach, I’m sure that many of us also stopped to consider the sacrifices of our troops – both those who currently protect us across the...
Last Thursday, the Center for Disease Control released new data indicating that between 2006 and 2010, approximately 60% of sexually active teenagers ages 15 to 19 were using “highly effective...
I experienced a profound moment of clarity Monday afternoon. Attending Reform Jewish Voice of New York State (RJV) Advocacy Day in Albany, I listened intently as Rabbi Linda Goodman of Union Temple...
In response to Representative Rosa DeLauro's (D-CT) introduction of the United States Leadership to Eradicate Obstetric Fistula Act of 2012 and in light of the crisis that obstetric fistula poses...
Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) has introduced the latest bill that would severely restrict women’s reproductive rights—and this one is targeted at D.C. women, even though the District of...
As we’ve written about before, the House and Senate are having difficulties reconciling their different visions for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)—which is...
Last week, the New York Times published an article that corrects the established understanding of the science behind morning-after pills, which can be taken after sex to prevent pregnancy. FDA...
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and others recently sued the Obama administration over the birth control insurance benefit, to my dismay and to that of many people of faith. Our...
A the end of 2011, I wrote that the new strategy for anti-choice advocates is to roll back reproductive rights at the state level, allowing them to create real barriers to women’s health services...
The above table (click to enlarge) explains the differences between reproductive health, reproductive rights and reproductive justice frameworks. Of course, it is necessary that organizations using...
In a time when the wounds of budget cuts are still wide open, one might think that the federal and state governments alike would be focusing their energies on the economy. In fact, a new poll...
2012 is shaping up to be the year of women’s health—and not in a good way. Between HHS regulations, inappropriate name-calling by public personalities, political firestorms between women’s health...
This week, 19 members of the U.S. Armed Forces have come to D.C. from across the country to advocate for the reproductive rights of servicewomen to their Members of Congress. These American heroes ...
When we talk about religion and reproductive rights, too often the progressive faith voice goes unnoticed. I have been interning at the National Council of Jewish Women and one of our priorities...
Last Thursday the Virginia Department of Health approved a series of new regulations that place restrictions on abortion providers. These new rules will impose hospital-type standards, including...
The "Protect Life Act" (H.R. 358/S. 877), which was introduced on March 17 by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), is scheduled to come to the House floor for a vote on Thursday. In a year when the...
Throughout the 2011 URJ Biennial, participants have had the opportunity to attend special legislative briefings by the RAC Eisendrath Legislative Assistants. Known as "RAC Rundowns," these...
This Saturday, January 22, marks the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic decision in Roe v. Wade, which recognized a woman's right to choose. The Religious Action Center of Reform...
Linda Benesch is a sophomore at American University, interning this semester at the RAC. She is originally from Highland Park, NJ, and is a member of Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick....
Congressional staffers and advocates on both sides packed a House Judiciary Committee room on Tuesday for the first hearing on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3). The hearing was...
"... [T]his is a battle where the stakes are extremely high... We need every arm of the Reform Jewish Movement to build on the important work that you've already done."...
In response to Friday's vote in the House of Representatives to deny all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, Mark J. Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism,...
Can't make it to Washington, D.C., on April 7 for the Stand Up for Women's Health Advocacy Day? Not to worry, you can still make your voice heard!...
The Stand Up for Women's Health Advocacy Day on April 7 was a HUGE success, thanks in no small part to YOU. Thousands of advocates attended the rally on the National Mall and heard Members of...
I bet that headline caught your eye. Just like this headline caught my eye the other night: "The Death of Roe v. Wade." In this Slate article, Senior Editor and Legal Correspondent Dahlia Lithwick ...
Today marks the 46th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, which overturned a Connecticut law prohibiting the use of contraception. Although this decision is not...
Thinking of a blog title has never been so easy--all I had to do was type the name of the bill! The MARCH for Military Women Act (MARCH stands for Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health)...
Today marks the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade. As Friday at the RACBlog is our "Focus on the Courts" day, it is only appropriate that we use this...
Sometimes, believing in gender equality and working toward it means celebrating victories. There were victories in achieving women's suffrage with the 19th Amendment, passing women's rights...
The decision to move critical health insurance reform toward passage by means of reconciliation may constitute a victory in the fight to preserve access to abortion services in reform. The Senate...
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Nothing in the Torah is coincidental. The repeated use of certain words, the choice of names, the span of time—everything is linked to a greater or deeper theological meaning. Nowhere is this more...
This week the United States commemorates the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that determined that the right to choose to have an abortion is...
This week, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga v. Sebelius. These cases have been getting a fair amount of coverage in the press and attention in the...
Last month, the governor of Louisiana signed a bill that will close three of the state’s five abortion facilities. Several days later, the only medical provider offering abortion care in northern...
On January 22, we commemorate the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established the constitutionally protected right of a woman to choose whether...
Last Wednesday, the Washington Post wrote about the topics most clergy members discuss from the pulpit as a way to illustrate that the issues most associated with communities of faith -...
In a recent conversation about raising families, I recounted the numerous times that I have been asked, often in an accusatory tone, why I have “only” two children. I guess because I am an Orthodox...
Today, Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land. As we celebrate its 45th anniversary, I hope we redouble our commitment to protecting a woman’s right to make her own choices about her body.
Sunday marked 44 years since the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973, recognizing that the constitutional rights to privacy and liberty protect a woman’s right to choose whether...
Today, as we celebrate the valor and sacrifices made by our veterans both at home and abroad, I cannot help but stop to think about those members of our military who are “less equal” than others....
We live in difficult times, and as a progressive Reform Jew who cares deeply about injustice and human rights, I sit in frustration and horror at the atrocities unfolding daily. I wonder, like so...
