“A common Jewish response to Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, has been the claim that abortion bans violate the religious freedom of Jews, whose religion sometimes mandates abortion. What makes this claim so alluring is that in recent years, the same Supreme Court that upheld abortion bans has been overwhelmingly sympathetic to religious freedom claims, leaning on the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that allows religious exemptions from generally applicable laws. The group that has benefited most from this has been the Christian Right; the same group for whom the annulment of Roe v. Wade was a momentous victory.”

Read the complete essay in AJS Perspectives Fall 2022