A synagogue in Boynton Beach, Florida has filed a lawsuit against a new Florida law prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks gestation.
The Associated Press detailed that the law that takes effect in July “violates religious freedom rights of Jews in addition to the state constitution’s privacy protections.”
In addition, the lawsuit filed by the Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor claims that abortion “is required if necessary to protect the health, mental, or physical well-being of the woman.” It also claims that the law is “unconstitutionally vague.”
The lawsuit filed on Friday at the Leon County Circuit Court adds that “the act prohibits Jewish women from practicing their faith free of government intrusion and this violates their privacy rights and religious freedom.”
According to L'Dor Va-Dor's "Bill of Rights," it says members can expect "To share a love of Israel and our planet earth and woman’s rights."
Rabbi Barry Silver issued a statement on the synagogue's website regarding the lawsuit against the 15-week abortion ban. In his statement, he called unintended pregnancies a "curse."
Govenor DeSantis is not pro-life, he is pro-lie, lying to the people by pretending that he cares about life. If he were truly pro-life, he would seek universal health care, protect our planet, help the poor and outlaw assault weapons that are killing our children. And if he truly understood the sanctity of life, he would stop trying to force parenthood on women against their will and realize that bringing new life into the world is a blessing when done out of love and by choice and is a curse when forced through coercion by the state. By making no exception for rape, incest or trauma, if a woman has been raped in Florida by a man who took control of her body by force, the state adds insult to injury by taking control of her body by legislative fiat and forcing her to bear the child of her rapist. Society improves when women’s rights to reproduction are respected and is harmed when women are treated as incubators not people. Jews and others don’t need religious fanatics to teach us about the sanctity of life by imposing their misguided religious views upon us. As the Rabbi of Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor and its attorney, we will continue to fight to keep the separation between church and state strong, which is essential to protecting the freedoms we all enjoy in America.
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Conservative writer David Harsanyi responded to the lawsuit on Twitter, calling those involved "disconnected" from religion and tradition.
It's one thing to be a secular Jew. It's another to be a secular Jew who creates fake denominations that are not only completely disconnected from religious texts and tradition but ones that *exist* to undermine the fundamental traditions and faith. These people are garbage. https://t.co/SyXzRaVtOk
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) June 16, 2022
Other "religious" groups like "Catholics for Choice" use religion to defend and promote abortion.
Earlier this month, abortion providers and pro-abortion advocacy groups in Florida filed a lawsuit to block the law. Some of the groups involved are Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the ACLU of Florida. The lawsuit argues that abortion falls under “right to privacy.”
“The Florida Supreme Court has long held that their state constitution protects the right to end a pregnancy,” said Nancy Northup, president of the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights, in a statement when the lawsuit was announced. “That means even if Roe falls, abortion should remain protected in Florida, and this ban should be blocked.”
DeSantis’ office previously said in a statement that it “is confident that this law will ultimately withstand all legal challenges.”
AP noted that it is likely the two cases will be consolidated into one. A hearing on an injunction on the law could occur within the coming weeks.
Florida’s 15-week abortion ban mirrors a Mississippi law currently under review by the Supreme Court. A leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court last month showed that the justices are poised to overturn landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
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