NCJW and 110 organizations demand equal access to abortion coverage!
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