Reproductive Rights

Content type
Collection
Ruth Zakarin, a community organizer, and her daughter at a March For Our Lives rally in Boston.

Watching with Pride and Sadness as a New Generation Takes up the Fight

Ruth Zakarin

I’m proud that my children are fighting for gun violence prevention and abortion rights. But I wish they didn’t have to.

 Protesters holding signs outside Supreme Court on Day Roe v Wade was overturned

The Limits of Framing Abortion Rights as a Religious Issue

Savoy Curry

The right to abortion has deep roots across religions. But framing the fight for bodily autonomy as a religious issue has limits.

Someone holding a sign that reads "We won't go back. We will fight back."

JWA and Jewish History Stand for Abortion Rights

Judith Rosenbaum

We will continue to fight, strengthened by the lessons of history, which teach us that abortion access is a Jewish value.

Rosalie Silber Abrams

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Senator Rosalie Silber Abrams on May 24, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words Oral History Project. Abrams, a progressive health advocate, and former Maryland Senator, reflects on her life and career in an interview, highlighting her nursing background, political engagement, and contributions to healthcare and senior services.

Fania Mindell

Fania Mindell was a feminist activist and co-founder of a birth control clinic. She was arrested and fined for her work, which helped bring America’s attention to women’s health. She also worked on Broadway as a translator and costume and set designer.

Abortion rights demonstrators hold signs outside US Supreme Court after leaked SCOTUS opinion.

We Must Take a Page from Jewish Reproductive Justice Activists and Continue the Fight

Betsy More

There are as many different ways of working for reproductive justice as there are people.

Carly Manes and the cover of her book What's An Abortion, Anyway?

Interview with Carly Manes, author of "What’s An Abortion, Anyway?"

Chanel Dubofsky

We spoke with Carly Manes about Jewish faith and abortion, the obstacles in getting the book into the world, and how Jewish communities can support the fight for reproductive justice.

Collage of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" Book Covers

"Our Bodies, Ourselves" in 2022

Sofia Isaias-Day

As a Jewish feminist, I have a responsibility to further the movement started by the writers of Our Bodies, Ourselves.

Collage with Image of Gisella Perl

Lessons From Gisella Perl, Reflections on the Texas Abortion Ban

Sarah Gorbatov

Holocaust survivor and doctor Gisella Perl's story has long been unsung; learning her story can serve all of us in our struggle for reproductive rights today.

Therese Shechter stands in front of a bunch of strollers in My So-Called Selfish Life

Childfree, with No Regrets and No Apologies

Dr. Helene Meyers

Full of insights from experts and the joyously childfree, this film expands our understanding of reproductive justice.

Collage with Image of Joyce Antler and Pen Patterned Background

Looking to Joyce Antler's Writing on Reproductive Rights

Amanda Xinhui Malnik

Through Joyce Antler’s writing, I can access the work of my foremothers on reproductive rights and can follow in their footsteps.

Episode 70: Jane: Abortion Before Roe

"Pregnant? Don't want to be? Call Jane." That was the catchphrase of the Chicago-based Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation, better known as Jane. Before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, the women of Jane provided safe, illegal, and affordable abortions to nearly 12,000 women in the Chicago area until seven "Janes" were arrested in 1972. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we hear from Jeanne Galatzer-Levy and Judith Arcana, two of the "Abortion Seven," as well as Jane founder Heather Booth.

Abortion rights activists protest outside Supreme Court

The Supreme Court and the Future of Abortion

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

Now more than ever, Jews who are concerned about threats to reproductive justice must stand firm in their support for abortion rights.

Collage of Torah, Jade Chai Necklace, and Image of Amanda Xinhui Malnik

My Necklace is a Symbol of My Jewish-Chinese Feminist Identity

Amanda Xinhui Malnik

My jade chai necklace has become my most prized possession as a Jewish-Chinese feminist.

Susan Brownmiller

Susan Brownmiller is a radical feminist writer and journalist. She was a leader in the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s to 1980s (second-wave feminism). Brownmiller is bes-known for Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape (1975), the first comprehensive study of sexual violence.

Jane Collective is raided by Chicago police

May 3, 1972

On Wednesday May 3, 1972, the Jane Collective was raided by the Chicago police.

Sexual Education Illustration

Meet the Hasidic Women Talking about Sex

Allison Abrams

The Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association (JOWMA) is breaking barriers.

Title page of the Register of a Jewish Midwife by Roza, 1700s

From the Archive: Register of a Jewish Midwife

Deborah Dash Moore
Dory Fox

The Posen Library shares an eighteenth century midwife's register of births from their archive.

Pro-Choice Demonstrators Outside the Supreme Court in 1989, Washington DC

Roe v. Wade is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

What's next for the reproductive justice movement?

Carol Nadelson

Carol C. Nadelson is a ground-breaking female psychiatrist whose work has changed how medical practice addresses women’s medical care and encouraged women to break the glass-ceiling. She as the first woman president of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society and the American Psychiatric Association. Under Nadelson’s editorial leadership, the American Psychiatric Press became a leader in the field of psychiatry.

Barbara Seaman

Muckraking journalist Barbara Seaman survived a tumultuous childhood in New York City to become a bestselling author, a prominent second wave feminist, and, as a founder of the women’s health movement, an architect of informed consent. A lifelong scourge to the pharmaceutical industry, Seaman exposed the dangers of the high-dose birth control pill, hormone replacement therapy, and male doctors’ hubris.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman is an actress and activist who takes pride in her acting roles as a reflection of her activism. Her ultimate goal is to raise awareness of the role and importance of women.

Text: "Call Jane" with teal background and bright blue stripes

Heather Booth and The Jane Collective: Judaism in Pursuit of Justice

Ma'ayan Stutman-Shaw

Recently, I’ve found hope in the work of a Jewish feminist icon whose pro-choice activism is awe-inspiring: Heather Booth.

Pro-Choice Demonstrators Outside the Supreme Court in 1989, Washington DC

How Blu Greenberg Helped Me Form My Views on Abortion as a Conservative Jewish Woman

Dodie Altman-Sagan

I identified with Blu Greenberg’s stance, as I read it: even if I wouldn’t have an abortion myself, it’s still a valid decision for other women to make.

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