INDIANAPOLIS — As Indiana lawmakers prepare to pass a potential abortion ban, local faith leaders are speaking out about concerns for congregations across the state.
“It’s very troubling to think that we would be legislating one religious belief over another,” said Rabbi Brett Krichiver, senior rabbi at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation.
Krichiver has been the senior rabbi at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation for 12 years. He said while many of his congregants have differing opinions when it comes to abortion as a personal decision, they're unified in their belief that access to abortion care should be legal.
"If we have to get into a conversation about when life begins, I think we all know there's enough gray area there that we'll never agree. What this is really about is separating church and state and not advocating one religious community in the government," Krichiver said. “The government should not be allowed to make this decision for a woman, a family or anyone facing what we know is a very, very difficult choice."
When it comes to religious texts, "The Jewish community understands that the Bible doesn't directly address this topic but there's a reference to a woman who miscarries in the Bible. And specifically, the reference is the man who caused that miscarriage is liable for damages as if he'd damaged her property," Krichiver said.
"The Jewish community would argue that the Bible states very clearly that an unborn child is more similar to property than it is to a human being and that really what's at stake here is women's ability to control their own access to healthcare," he added
Krichiver said he doesn't believe the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade would necessarily infringe on religious freedoms. A state ban, on the other hand, could impact First Amendment rights.
"But the way that states implement that is very worrisome. So if a state decided to make abortion illegal, we would absolutely argue that infringed on our religious freedom," said Krichiver.
For decades, Krichiver said, the Jewish community has pushed for women's rights including access to abortion, including lobbying against the governor's upcoming special session. And, he said, they stand ready to advocate for a woman's right to choose again if Indiana does ban abortions as its expected to do.
“If this ban were to go into effect, we would be prepared to fight on every front," Krichiver said. "Whether advocating for this as a human rights issue, or advocating for this as an access to medical care issue, or if we need to take on with the state of Indiana the issue of separation of church and state, that’s where we stand."
He said the issue deserves real debate from the state, one that's inclusive of every belief and every person's individual rights.
"We do believe that this issue of separation of church and state is central," said Krichiver. "We need to make sure that our voices are heard, all the religious communities and those of us who are not religious as well need to be able to say this state needs to represent me, these elected officials need to represent me and to advocate for one religious belief versus another is simply un-American."
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