February 17, 2023 

Faith-Centered, Values-Based, & Religious Organizations
Express Support for the EACH Act

Dear Representatives: 

The undersigned 111 religious, religiously-affiliated, values-based, and faith-centered organizations and communities represent millions of people of faith and conscience committed to securing universal access to affordable health coverage, including coverage for abortion care. We write to express our strong and unequivocal support for the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, which was just introduced in the House of Representatives.

For over 40 years, the Hyde Amendment has pushed time-sensitive, essential abortion care out of reach for countless Americans by discriminating against those struggling to make ends meet. Now, the measure not only denies abortion coverage through Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but also extends to federal employees and dependents, military personnel and dependents, Peace Corps volunteers, indigenous peoples receiving care from federal or tribal programs, pregnant individuals in federal prisons and detention centers, pregnant individuals receiving care from community health centers, and survivors of human trafficking. The EACH Act would permanently end Hyde and related coverage bans while prohibiting political interference in private insurance coverage of abortion at all levels of government. Currently, abortion care is banned in at least 13 states with more restrictions on the horizon. In this anti-abortion environment, it is even more essential that everyone is able to make their own decisions about our health care and futures, and to thrive in their communities with dignity.

Indeed, coverage bans further enshrine systemic racism in our federal laws and regulations and strip the poor of access to abortion, disproportionately impacting those struggling financially; Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities; young people; people living with disabilities; rural communities; immigrants; and LGBTQ individuals. People in the United States are facing severe economic duress compounded by a growing health crisis and firmly institutionalized racism; we cannot afford to further wrong the most vulnerable. As people of faith and conscience, we believe in the inherent dignity and equal worth of all people. We are, therefore, called to treat all individuals with respect, no matter their income, insurance, gender, race, or other factors.

We also believe in the power of compassion to build a just and fair society. Our nation is at its best when our laws match our compassion. A compassionate nation ensures that every single person can access quality, timely medical services from trusted providers when they seek abortion care — regardless of how much they earn, how they are insured, or where they live. Because of our faith traditions, consciences, and deep respect for an individual’s moral agency, we support policies grounded in compassion that protect each person’s right to care for their own body, health, and well-being and to ensure all others can do the same.

Finally, religious freedom is an essential shared principle undergirding our support of policies that ensure equitable access to abortion. The United States is home to people of many different faiths as well as people with no religious affiliation. We cannot limit an individual’s religious liberty by enshrining one set of beliefs into law and restricting their ability to make personal decisions about their pregnancy, health, and family according to their own religious or moral beliefs and conscience. No government committed to human rights and democracy can privilege one religion over another.

Eschewing insurance coverage bans is a moral good. No one should be denied an abortion because of who they are, where they live, or how much they earn. It is long past time for our elected officials to eliminate the Hyde Amendment and all bans that interfere with people receiving the care they need. We welcome the introduction of the EACH Act and encourage you to support this critical legislation.

Respectfully,

National Council of Jewish Women

Catholics for Choice

African American Ministers In Action

ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal

Ameinu

American Humanist Association

American Jewish Congress

American Jewish World Service

Anti-Defamation League

Auburn Theological Seminary

Avodah

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action

Black Jewish Justice Alliance (BJJA)

Bnai Keshet Reconstructionist Synagogue

Carolina Jews for Justice

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Clergy Advocacy Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America

DignityUSA

Faith and Religious Freedom Coalition of So Cal

Faith Choice Ohio

Faith in Harm Reduction

Faith in Public Life Action

Feminist Agenda Network (F.A.N.)

Florida Interfaith Coalition for Reproductive Health and Justice

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Habonim Dror North America

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America

Hindus for Human Rights

IKAR

Interfaith Alliance

Interfaith Voices for Reproductive Justice

Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action

Jewish Community Action

Jewish Council for Public Affairs

Jewish Democratic Council of America

Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance

Jewish Women International

Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ)

Jewtina y Co.

Just Texas: Faith Voices for Justice

Keshet

Lab/Shul

Latter-day Saint Democrats of America

Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom

Methodist Federation for Social Action

Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network (MUUSJN)

Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network (MUUSJN)

Muslim Advocates

Muslims for Progressive Values

National Council of Jewish Women, Arizona Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Atlanta Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Austin Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Bergen County Section

National Council of Jewish Women, California

National Council of Jewish Women, Chicago North Shore Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Colorado Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Columbus Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Dallas Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Houston Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Long Beach & West Orange County Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Miami Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Philadelphia Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Southern Maine Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Maryland Action Team

National Council of Jewish Women, Massachusetts State Policy Advocate

National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Milwaukee Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Minnesota Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Nashville Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Northern Virginia Action Team

National Council of Jewish Women, Palm Beach Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Peninsula Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Sacramento Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Saddleback Section

National Council of Jewish Women, San Antonio Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Sarasota-Manatee Section

National Council of Jewish Women, South Cook Section

National Council of Jewish Women, St. Louis Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Washington State Policy Advocate

National Council of Jewish Women, West Morris Section

Nebraska Religious Council for Reproductive Freedom (RCRF)

New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

PA Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice

Rabbinical Assembly

Reconstructing Judaism

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity)

Shtibl Minyan

SisterReach

Sixth & I

Society for Humanistic Judaism

Student Coalition for Reproductive Justice

Teen JUST-US

Texas Freedom Network

The Shalom Center

The Workers Circle

T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

Union for Reform Judaism

Unitarian Universalist Association

Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation

Wisconsin Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Women of Reform Judaism

Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)

Women’s Rabbinic Network

Zioness