(RNS) — “A Jewish value” is how an advertisement by the National Council of Jewish Women recently characterized the freedom to terminate pregnancies at will. At the bottom of the graph is a useful hashtag: #jewsforabortionaccess.

The group argues that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade said the 1973 ruling making abortion legal nationwide is “flagrant” and “a direct violation of…our Jewish tradition.”

There are differing opinions among reasonably informed people as to whether, from a Jewish point of view, Dobbs bodes well or badly—and whether the opinions of Judaism should inform secular law. What is not debatable is that our religion considers abortion forbidden in all but rare situations.

That’s why the Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel, for which I work, welcomed the Dobbs decision. Although “there are some extraordinary circumstances in which our faith teaches that a woman should terminate her pregnancy,” our statement reads, and while “Agudath Israel fully supports her right to abortion in such situations, both as a matter of free constitutional exercise and of moral principle. … it must be reiterated that these cases are indeed extraordinary and rare exceptions to the rule that fetal life is entitled to protection.

RELATED: Why Post-Roe Abortion Bans Must Exempt Religious Jews

Agudath Israel then expressed his hope that all Americans will “come to appreciate the moral magnitude of the abortion issue and embrace a culture that celebrates life.”

Regardless of anyone’s opinion of the decision, however, no one has the right to insinuate that Jewish religious tradition endorses abortion, even in the early stages of pregnancy, as a mere choice for a woman. some reason, the fundamental policy position now reversed Roe Decision.

That’s the impression one gets from listening to the news reports of various religious leaders’ reactions to Dobbs. In its coverage, National Public Radio quoted only a Reform rabbi and a spokeswoman for the Orthodox Jewish Feminist Alliance. While noting that “(d)different rabbis will have different answers,” the report states that “Jewish values, Jewish identity, Jewish history also shape Jewish life,” leading American Jews to be, “in overall, more liberal and more united”. access to abortion.

Meanwhile, the PBS Newshour report on the Jewish reaction to Roe’s reversal was, in full: “Several Jewish organizations have said the decision violates Jewish traditions that accept the necessity of abortion.

These outlets obviously ignore Jews who embrace Jewish law, or Halakha, more strictly.

The media seem particularly interested in Jews who speak their faith requires a liberal right to abortion. That’s the basis of a lawsuit recently filed by Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor in Boynton Beach, Florida, which argues that abortion bans violate First Amendment guarantees of religious freedom.

This last judgment may in fact be true, although it should be noted that L’Dor Va-Dor describes itself as “socially aware of our world, our environment and current affairs”, adopts “an inclusive, universal and rational”. to Judaism… (which) celebrates spirituality” and aims to “build the Judaism of tomorrow!

Yet it was Halakha that she invoked to challenge Florida’s abortion law, claiming that since state law could affect the religious lives of its members by coming into conflict with halachic requirements, it is unconstitutional. For a “socially conscious” group to claim that a law encroaches on their free exercise rights to follow Halakha is… well, words like “hypocritical” and “cynical” are the quickest to come to mind.

As constitutional law professor Josh Blackman put it in an article in Reason magazine: “If virtually every other facet of halakha is not binding on the members of this congregation, how could it be that this teaching on abortion is binding – so binding that a state’s banning of this teaching in fact significantly hampers the free exercise of religion? »

RELATED: As Catholics mull Communion for politicians, Jews should revisit abortion issue

In the end, what matters more than social conscience disguised as religious devotion is the impression that the congregation and its leader have left in the public sphere: that Judaism embraces the “right to abortion.”

It’s an impression that dovetails disturbingly with the lack of Halakha-friendly views in the media, with this news organization being the notable exception.

As director of public affairs for Agudath Israel, I wrote to NPR reporters last week to ask what caused them to omit traditional Orthodox voices.

So far no response.

(Rabbi Avi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, a national Orthodox Jewish organization. He blogs at rabbishafran.com. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)