אֵיכָ֣ה /Woe

Some notes on the fall of Roe and what's next

Jun 26

I don’t know, friends. It felt on the one hand like I had to write and say something. And on the other hand, what is happening here is a disaster beyond language, beyond reckoning.

This is personal for each of you in your own ways. Some of you have had abortions—one in four people who can get pregnant will have had an abortion by the age of 45. All of us love someone who’s had an abortion, whether or not we know it. This is an attack on all of us, and a direct negation of the validity of some of our bodies, autonomy, dignity, safety, lives.

As some of you may remember, I discussed how abortion bans violate Jewish law and of Jewish religious freedom in a previous missive.

I keep thinking about how the Book of Lamentations, and other literature in the Hebrew Bible, so often describes the destroyed Jerusalem—sacked, torn apart, the First Temple destroyed in 586 BCE by the Babylonians—as a woman whose own bodily autonomy has not been honored. A lot of that language is victim-blaming, to be sure, but I think there’s something else for us here. (TW: SA; all citations Lamentations 1.)

At its core, Lamentations is a lament— a bitter cry.

Bitterly she weeps in the night,
Her cheek wet with tears.
There is none to comfort her
Of all her friends.
All her allies have betrayed her;
They have become her foes.
Judah has gone into exile
Because of misery and harsh oppression…
All her pursuers overtook her
In the narrow places.

Restricting abortion access disproportionately impacts those who are already marginalized in our society: Women, people who are struggling financially; BIPOC individuals and communities; young people; those in rural communities; immigrants; disabled people; & trans & nonbinary people.

When her people fell by enemy hands
With none to help her;
When enemies looked on and gloated
Over her downfall.

People who are denied access to reproductive health care are more likely to live in poverty and to remain in abusive relationships as a result of that denied care.

The foe has laid hands
On everything dear to her.
She has seen her Sanctuary
Invaded by nations

The Supreme Court has legislated the Sanctuary of our bodies, dared to issue prohibitions with regards to our most sacred and private of personal spaces. Our most intimate of Holy of Holies. The government dares insert itself there.

All her inhabitants sigh
As they search for bread;
They have bartered their treasures for food,
To keep themselves alive.—

Research has shown that the more abortion restrictions a state has, the worse women and children’s health outcomes in the state are.

For these things do I weep,
My eyes flow with tears:
Far from me is any comforter
Who might revive my spirit;
My children are forlorn,
For the foe has prevailed.

Fifty-nine percent of abortions are obtained by a parent who already has at least one child. By five years, those denied abortions were more likely to be raising children alone – without family members or male partners – compared to people who received an abortion.

See, O God, the distress I am in!
My heart is in anguish,
Outside the sword deals death;
Indoors, the plague.

A national abortion ban would lead to a 21% rise in the number of overall pregnancy-related deaths — and a 33% rise in such deaths among Black women, because of systemic racism in health care and beyond.

May it never befall you,
All who pass along the road—
Look about and see:
Is there any agony like mine,
Which was dealt out to me.

And intimate partner violence goes through the roof during pregnancy: Homicide is the leading cause of death in pregnant people. Pregnant and postpartum people are TWICE as likely to die by homicide than any other leading cause of maternal mortality.

Abortion care literally saves lives.

So now what? In terms of taking action, I beg you to remember that people in the repro space have been aware that this day was likely to be coming for a long time--a year, at least--and preparing for it. Follow their leadership. A few tips below.

There are well-intentioned actions that can be harmful at this moment. Eg people who need abortion care need support from vetted, trained advocates, not internet strangers who don’t understand how abortion practical support works, let alone how to navigate this new legal landscape. It is crucial that work happen with and from established organizations.

For example, what people seeking abortion care want now is not to stay in your guest rooms. They need money. What is needed now from anyone who can offer it most immediately, to have the most impact on those who are most harmed is MONEY.

That's why National Council of Jewish Women set up the Jewish Fund for Abortion Access. 100% of the money that is raised goes directly to support those who need care. They call a hotline, and get support to get abortion care—including logistical support to navigate their state laws, travel funds if they need to leave the state, money to cover their abortion if needed, etc.

How you can help right now:

1) Raise money for abortion orgs/funds. Yes, your local fund, national funds, advocacy orgs, all of them. But, like: People doing the work.

2) Destigmatize abortion in your community. It is a medical procedure that everyone should access. Offer care for those in your community who may need it now, whether or not they may need an abortion, whether or not they have had one (You know people who have had abortions. Everyone loves someone who’s had an abortion, as We Testify founder Renee Bracey Sherman puts it. Some abortion experiences are difficult, some liberating, some full of other emotions--don't presume).

3) Jews, stay in the loop with us. Community briefing on Tuesday. I’m teaching on core Torah sources on abortion on July 14th. (I’m also doing a session for Moving Traditions for talking to teens and tweens about reproductive freedom with Moving Traditions that same day.) More advocacy opportunities to come after that. JewsForAbortionAccess.org

4) If you want to get involved locally, find a local repro advocacy or justice org and ask if they need your capacity and particular skills. Maybe that means getting trained in practical support. Maybe, like, they’d be glad for a free website or help with data entry or your grantwriting skills or whatever. There are LOTS OF WAYS TO HELP and being arrested at a protest or helping someone get an abortion are NOT THE ONLY WAYS. Ahem.

5) Spread the word about medication abortion: AbortionOnDemand.org , PlanCPills.org

I’m still basically on hiatus, but we’ll be back to Leviticus by the end of the summer, I promise. I haven’t forgotten you.

Let’s close with a prayer, something I wrote when SB8 was passed in Texas—the 6 week abortion ban in September. I’ll note that just over 9 months have passed since that ban, so the forced births imposed by the State have begun to come to term. And now the scale of harm is so much wider.