Budgets are moral documents. How we plan to spend our money — personally, as families, and as a country — is a reflection of our values. And as Congress is negotiating our nation’s federal budget for next year, it is important that we as advocates urge them to create a spending plan that reflects our Jewish values. This means a budget that does not prohibit abortion. And this year, the proposed House and Senate budget bills for next year already include multiple provisions that could limit abortion.

That’s why NCJW and the Jewish Abortion Access Coalition, along with 300+ Jewish organizations, rabbis, and Jewish clergy members, sent this letter urging our congressional leaders to pass a final budget WITHOUT anti-abortion language or policies.

Judaism calls on us to respect the dignity of all people; to trust and support people and families as they make personal decisions about pregnancy and parenting, and to ensure that each person can have access to a full spectrum of safe reproductive health care. Read the letter:

September 10, 2024

Dear Chairs Patty Murray and Tom Cole, and Ranking Members Susan Collins and Rosa DeLauro: 

We, the undersigned Jewish organizations and Jewish clergy, deeply supportive of reproductive health, rights, and justice, write to urge you to ensure that the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations package does not include drastic cuts to funding in this area or any harmful anti-abortion language, provisions, or riders.

As Jews, we are taught, tzedek tzedek tirdof, or, “justice, justice you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). We must not stand idly by while barriers to health care place individuals’ autonomy, health, economic security, or well-being at risk. 

Jewish text is widely interpreted to prioritize the wellbeing and health of a pregnant person. In fact, Jewish law views abortion as not only permissible, but required, to safeguard the wellbeing of a pregnant person. Judaism calls on us to respect the dignity of all people;  to support people and families as they make decisions about pregnancy and parenting, and to ensure that each person can have access to a full spectrum of safe reproductive healthcare. 

For everyone — especially those working to make ends meet, identifying as LGBTQ+, people of color, young people, women, and people in rural communities  — access to reproductive health care, including abortion care, is vital. The ability to decide if and when to become pregnant and build a family is crucial to a person’s autonomy. Our nation’s programs and services must meet the needs of all people by funding vital health programs, and ensuring that reproductive health care is affordable and accessible domestically and globally. Anti-abortion riders and cuts to vital funding that threaten reproductive freedom domestically and globally also threaten gender-affirming care; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and other rights that are fundamental to our ability to thrive in our communities and ultimately determine our own lives.

Religious freedom means reproductive freedom. Our Jewish values compel us to ensure all people have access to safe, high-quality reproductive health care that is not conditioned on the personal beliefs of others. There are many provisions in the appropriations bills that, if passed into law, would create barriers to abortion and other essential reproductive health care, such as the Weldon Amendment, the Helms Amendment, the “global gag rule”, and others. The Weldon Amendment, which has been attached to the annual Labor-HHS appropriations bill in Congress since 2005, is an especially harmful provision because it misuses religion to intimidate states that seek to protect abortion care by threatening critical federal funding. While the Weldon Amendment is deceptively written to prohibit “discrimination”  against health care entities — including hospitals, health insurance plans, doctors, and nurses — that refuse to provide, cover, pay for, or refer for abortion, it really allows health care providers to discriminate against patients by denying them the care they need. Further, the Labor-HHS appropriations bill in particular proposes to drastically cut federal funding for Title X family planning and teen pregnancy prevention programs. Instead of creating further barriers, we urge you to prioritize programs like Title X to improve reproductive health and support patient and public education, research, and training for family planning staff across the country.

The federal budget showcases the values and priorities that truly matter to us as a nation, at home and abroad. As Jews who believe in reproductive freedom, autonomy, respect, and dignity for all, we will keep advocating for our core values to be represented. As you move the individual appropriations bills forward and finalize your negotiations, we urge you to keep anti-abortion language, provisions, and riders out of the final package. 

Regards, 

National Organizations

American Jewish World Service

Avodah

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action

Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs

Habonim Dror North America

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America

Jewish Council for Public Affairs

Jewish Democratic Council of America

Jewish Labor Committee

Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance

Jews for a Secular Democracy 

Jewish Women International (JWI)

Keeping It Sacred

Keshet

Lilith Magazine 

National Council of Jewish Women

Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

The Rabbinical Assembly

The Workers Circle

T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

Union for Reform Judaism

Women’s Rabbinic Network

Women of Reform Judaism 

Zioness Movement

State and Local Organizations

Beth Shir Shalom – Santa Monica, CA

Chicago Jewish Labor Committee – Chicago, IL

Cleveland Jewish Collective – Cleveland, OH

Congregation B’nai Israel – Sacramento, CA

IKAR – Los Angeles, CA

JCRC for Tucson & Southern Arizona – Tucson, AZ

Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action – MA

Jewish Community Action – St. Paul, MN

Jewish Community Relations Council of Broward County – Broward County, FL

Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston – Boston, MA

Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix – Phoenix, AZ

Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle – Seattle, WA

Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis – St. Louis, MO

Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor – Ann Arbor, MI

Jewish Federation of Greater Portland – Portland, OR

Jewish Federation of Tulsa – Tulsa, OK

Leo Baeck Temple – Los Angeles, CA

National Council of Jewish Women Arizona

National Council of Jewish Women Atlanta

National Council of Jewish Women Austin

National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County

National Council of Jewish Women Chicago North Shore

National Council of Jewish Women Cleveland

National Council of Jewish Women Colorado

National Council of Jewish Women Dallas

National Council of Jewish Women Essex County

National Council of Jewish Women Greater Houston

National Council of Jewish Women Greater Kansas City

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

National Council of Jewish Women Greater Miami

National Council of Jewish Women Greater New Orleans

National Council of Jewish Women Greater Philadelphia

National Council of Jewish Women Greater Rochester

National Council of Jewish Women Jersey Hills

National Council of Jewish Women Kendall

National Council of Jewish Women Lakeville

National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles

National Council of Jewish Women Louisville

National Council of Jewish Women Maryland Action Team

National Council of Jewish Women Massachusetts Action Team

National Council of Jewish Women Michigan

National Council of Jewish Women Milwaukee

National Council of Jewish Women Minnesota

National Council of Jewish Women Nashville

National Council of Jewish Women New York

National Council of Jewish Women Northern Virginia Action Team

National Council of Jewish Women Palm Beach

National Council of Jewish Women Peninsula

National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh

National Council of Jewish Women Rockland 

National Council of Jewish Women Sacramento

National Council of Jewish Women Saddleback

National Council of Jewish Women San Antonio

National Council of Jewish Women San Francisco

National Council of Jewish Women Sarasota Manatee

National Council of Jewish Women SE Atlantic

National Council of Jewish Women South Cook

National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis

National Council of Jewish Women Utah

National Council of Jewish Women West Morris

Temple Beth El – Aptos, CA

Temple Beth-El – San Antonio, TX

Jewish Clergy

Rabbi Alex Weissman – Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi Salem Pearce – Jackson, MS

Rabbi Lonnie Kleinman – Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi Denise L Eger – Austin, TX

Rabbi Becky Silverstein – Boston, MA

Rabbi Rafi Spitzer – Schenectady, NY

Rabba Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez – Atlanta, GA

Rabbi Will Hall – Austin, TX

Rabbi Eleanor B. Steinman – Austin, TX

Rabbi Samantha Frank – Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Nancy Myers – Westminster, CA

Helene H. Waranch – Baltimore, MD

Cantor Sheri Allen – Ft. Worth, TX

Rabbi Eliot Baskin – Denver, CO

Rabbi Shelley Kovar Becker – New York, NY

Cantor Vera Broekhuysen – North Andover, MA

Shira Collings, Lifecycle Ceremony Officiant – Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Leah F. Cassorla, Cantor-Educator – Melville, NY

Rabbi Seth Goldstein – Olympia, WA

Rabbi Alexis Erdheim – Charlotte, NC

Rabbi Fred Greene – Boulder, CO

Rabbi Carla/Shulamit Cenker – Atlanta, GA

Rabbi Dr. Rebecca Joseph – Fairfax, VA

Rabbi Alex Kress – Los Angeles, CA

Cantor George Henschel – Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Abby Cohen – Portland, OR

Rabbi Barry H. Block – Little Rock, AR

Rabbi Charles L Arian – Montgomery Village, MD 

Rabbi Nancy Kasten – Dallas, Texas

Rabbi Megan Doherty – Oberlin, OH

Rabbi Mychal Copeland – San Francisco, CA

Rabbi Jamie Korngold – Boulder, CO

Rabbi Miriam Geronimus – Cleveland, OH

Rabbi Alison Brody – New York, NY

Rabbi Valerie Lieber – Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Karen L Fox, Emerita Wilshire Boulevard Temple – Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Jessica Jacobs – Miami Beach, FL

Rabbi Jason Gwasdoff – Stockton, CA

Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov – Wilmington, NC

Rabbi Joshua Samuels – Bellingham, WA

Rabbi Sara Metz – Tucson, AZ

Rabbi Barbara Goldman-Wartell – Miami, FL

Rabbi Jack Moline – Alexandria, VA

Rabbi Yair D. Robinson – Wilmington, DE

Rabbi Joshua Fixler – Houston, TX

Rabbi Elizabeth Goldstein – Vienna, VA

Rabbi Alexander Davis – St Louis Park, MN

Rabbi Heidi Cohen – Lake Forest, CA

Rabbi Michal Loving – Long Beach, CA

Rabbi Jennifer Jaech – Peekskill, NY

Cantor Gerald Cohen – Scarsdale, NY

Rabbi Marc Margolius – New York, NY

Rabbi Lee S Paskind – Teaneck, NJ

Rabbi Judy Cohen-Rosenberg – Pittsboro, NC

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling – Philadelphia, PA

Cantor Sarah Myerson – Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Howard Herman – Venice, FL

Rabbi Gabriel Kretzmer-Seed – Bronx, NY

Rabbi Sabine Meyer – Waco, TX

Rabbi Ken Chasen – Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Gary S Fink – Silver Spring, MD

Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife – Pittsburgh, PA

Rabbi Geoffrey Brown – Asheville, NC

Rabbi Scott Fox – Long Beach, CA

Cantor Hollis Schachner – Natick, MA

Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman – Boston, MA

Cantor Jenna Mark – White Plains, NY

Rabbi Leah R. Berkowitz – Elkins Park, PA

Rabbi Deborah Goldberg – New York, NY

Rabbi Guy Austrian – New York, NY

Rabbi Meryl M. Crean – Upper Gwynedd, PA

Rabbi Simone Schicker – Kalamazoo, MI

Rabbi Megan GoldMarche – Philadelphia. PA

Rabbi Rosalind A. Gold – Reston,  VA

Rabbi Lewis Kamrass – Cincinnati, OH

Rabbi Heather Miller – Los Angeles, CA

Rev. Dr. Claudia Hall – St Louis, MO

Rabbi Michal S Mendelsohn – Naperville, IL

Rabbi Amy Cohen – Austin, TX

Rabbi Jill Perlman – Moringa, CA

Cantor Barbara Ostfeld – E. Amherst, NY

Cantor Devorah Felder-Levy – Los Gatos, CA

Rabbi Abram Goodstein – Anchorage, AK

Rabbi Julie Bressler – Oakland, CA

Rabbi Juliana Karol – New York, NY

Rabbi Laurence Edwards – Chicago, IL

Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen – Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, Inaugural Senior Rabbi, Congregation Mishkan Or – Beachwood, OH

Rabbi Michael Ramberg – Elkins Park, PA

Rabbi Joshua Caruso – Beachwood, OH

Cantor Hinda Eisen Labovitz – Chevy Chase, MD

Rabbi Noah A.L. Diamondstein – Washington, DC

Rabbi Ilana Axel – IL

Rabbi David Lazar – Palm Springs, CA

Rabbi Stephen Kahn – Scottsdale, AZ

Lisa Goldberg, Student Rabbi  – San Diego, CA

Rabbi Esther Reed – New Brunswick, NJ

Rabbi Moshe Edelman – Riverdale, NY

Jamie Rosler, Humanistic Jewish Officiant – Austin, TX

Rabbi Jason Nevarez – San Diego, CA

Rabbi Sam Blustin – Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Jessica Lott – Chicago, IL

Rabbi Alan Henkin – Palmdale, CA

Elias Lieberman, Rabbi Emeritus – East Falmouth, MA

Rabbi Craig Axler – Clarksville, MD

Rabbi Victor Appell – Metuchen, NJ

Rabbi Rachael Pass – Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Elyssa Cherney – Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi Jill Maderer – Philadelphia. PA

Rabbi Justin S. Kerber, BCC – Carmel, IN

Mrs. Sandra Siegel – Sarasota, FL

Rabbi Beth H Klafter – Melville, NY

Rabbi Beth Kalisch – Gladwyne, PA

Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser – Sandy Spring, GA

Rabbi Camille Shira Angel – San Francisco, CA

Rabbi Elliot Dorff – Beverly Hills, CA

Rabbi Barry Diamond – Thousand Oaks, CA

Cantor Carol Robbins-Garrett – West Palm Beach, FL

Humanistic Jewish Madricha (Leader), Sondra Schwartz – Boston, MA

Rabbi James M. Bennett – St. Louis, MO

Richard M Litvak – Apotos, CA

Rabbi Seth M. Limmer – Chicago, IL

Cantor Fredda Mendelson – White Plains, NY

Rabbi Stephanie Crawley – Washington, DC

Rabbi Sarah Meytin – Silver Spring, MD

Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein  – Chicago, IL 

Rabbi Eric Leiderman – Chicago, IL 

Cantor Jessica Roskin – Cumberland, MD

Cantor Tanya Greenblatt – Tampa, FL

Rabbi Dr. Rachel S. Mikva – Michigan City, IN

Rabbi Joan Glazer Farber – Tarrytown, NY

Rabbi Richard F Address – Mantua, NJ

Rabbi Jeremy Kridel – Ellicott City, MD

Rabbi Yael Dadoun – Beachwood, OH

Rabbi Aaron Alexander – Washington, DC

Rabbi Jack P. Paskoff – Lancaster, PA

Rabbi Batsheva H. Meiri – Asheville, NC

Rabbi Susan Grossman – Columbia, MD

Rabbi Elle Muhlbaum – Beachwood, OH

Rabbi Judy Ginsburgh – Alexandria, LA

Rabbi Kelly Levy – Austin, TX

Rabbi Renni Altman – Poughkeepsie, NY

Rabbi Healy Slakman – Washington DC

Rabbi Daniel G Zemel – Washington DC

Rabbi Hannah L Goldstein – Washington DC

Rabbi Lisa Sari Bellows – Glenview, IL

Rabbi Margo Hughes-Robinson – Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum – Atlanta, GA

Cantor Rachel Rhodes – Bethesda, MD

Rabbi Jessica Lowenthal – Melrose, MA

Rabbi James A. Gibson – Pittsburgh, PA

Rabbi Joseph R. Black – Denver, CO

Rabbi Sarah Noyovitz – Boston, MA

Rabbi Dr. Oren Steinitz – Syracuse, NY

Rabbi Diana Miller – Lambertville, NJ

Rabbi Ellen W Dreyfus – Homewood, IL

Rabbi Dr. Audrey Korotkin – Duncansville, PA

Rabbi Dina Brawer – Arlington, MA

Rabbi Michaela Brown – Minneapolis, MN

Rabbi Sarah Marion – Bridgeport, CT

Rabbi Leora Kaye – Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster – Teaneck, NJ

Rabbi Rachel Weiss – Evanston, IL

Rabbi Cynthia Minster – Alameda, CA

Rabbi Marci Bellows – Chester, CT

Rabbi Sarit Horwitz – Memphis, TN

Rabbi Philip Weintraub – St Petersburg, FL

Rabbi Micah Weiss – Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi Laurence Malinger – Aberdeen, NJ

Rabbi Julie Wolkoff – Wellesley, MA

Hazzah Sharon Grainer – Oak Park, IL

Rabbi Keren Gorban – Tacoma, WA

Rabbi Braham David – Acton, MA

Rabbi Maralee Gordy – Woodstock, IL

Rabbi Pamela Wax – North Adams, MA

Rabbi Marina Yergin – San Antonio, TX

Rabbi Sandra Lawson – Burlington, NC

Rabbi Hara Person – Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Bryan Mann – Kingston, NY

Rabbi Brooks R. Susman – Freehold, NJ

Cantor Hollis Schachner – Natick, MA

Rabbi Beverly W. Magidson – Albany, NY

Rabbi Susan Gulack – Albany, NY

Rabbi Karen Fox – Beverly Hills, CA 

Rabbi Dan Ornstein – Albany, NY

Rabbi Gordon Fuller – Columbia, MD

Rabbi Heather Ellen Miller – Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Ashira Stevens – Natick, MA

Rabbi Rachel Ackerman – Washington, DC

Rabbi David Dunn Bauer – Elkins Park, PA

Rabbi Josh Gischner – Silver Spring, MD

Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, Ed.D, RJE – Fresno, CA

Rabbi Bess Wohlner – Davis, CA

Rabbi Dayle Friedman – Philadelphia, PA

cc: US Senate Majority Leader Schumer, US Senate Minority Leader McConnell, US House Majority Leader Scalise, and US House Minority Leader Jeffries