Leaders of all faiths believe in telling the truth. Unfortunately, some clergy have mislabeled an essential part of the Women's Equality Act (WEA). Religious people who have long stood for women's equality need to clear the air.
Clergy of many faiths believe that women deserve the protections promised by the full Women's Equality Act.
The WEA addresses loopholes in New York state laws. For instance, it ensures a pregnant woman receives reasonable accommodations at the workplace, including permission to drink water or have a seat. It safeguards against sexual harassment in offices of all sizes. What's more, the WEA protects a woman throughout her pregnancy, including the rare and tragic circumstance when her pregnancy threatens her health.
New York was one of the first states to legalize abortion, in 1970. While New York law protects a woman when her pregnancy threatens her life, the law predates the U. S. Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade and lacks a significant health safeguard. The WEA gives us an opportunity to protect a pregnant woman, as Roe currently does, throughout her pregnancy, should her pregnancy threaten her health.
Rabbis across the Jewish spectrum, and religious leaders of many faiths, have long affirmed that when a pregnancy threatens a woman's health, her needs come first. When a pregnancy, very much wanted, takes a rare and tragic turn, her well-being has priority.
We recognize that other faiths have different teachings, and that women of those faiths may want to follow those directives. That's not the point. The WEA will safeguard the religious liberty of every woman of every faith, so she can to follow her faith tradition and doctor's recommendations, just as she decides.
So let's clear the air. WEA is a moral good. Taken as a whole, all 10 points, it will protect women at home, at work, and when seeking medical care.
Despite the rhetoric, the truth is:
The WEA will not allow abortion at any time for any reason. It will protect a woman as she comes to her own decision, with her doctor, and receives the care they believe she needs. It only allows abortion later in pregnancy if a women's physician determines that her health or life is in danger. Clearly, this limits abortion later in pregnancy.
WEA will not let just anyone make the decision. Only a licensed physician can determine when a pregnancy jeopardizes a woman's health or life. Her doctor makes this determination, just as a doctor would in any other medical situation.
WEA will not let politicians — with little or no medical experience — make the decision for the woman. It protects the woman as she talks to her doctor, loved ones, clergy and anyone else she decides to bring into the conversation and, ultimately, seeks medical care.
WEA will not trample anyone's beliefs. It protects the religious decision and conscience of a woman from any background. It also ensures that no doctor or hospital be required to perform or provide an abortion should they not want to.
New York, long a women's equality leader, can ensure that women are not held back by discrimination. Repeated polling demonstrates that New Yorkers support a woman's right to make personal and private decisions about pregnancy, and support updating this outdated and unconstitutional law.
As a father of three children and a pastor, I have learned not to take pregnancy for granted. Despite our best intentions and medical advances, life takes unexpected turns, not always for the better. To tell the truth, clergy want New York to enact all the provisions of the Women's Equality Act.
Rabbi Dennis S. Ross directs Concerned Clergy for Choice and is author of "All Politics Is Religious."