Religious Misconceptions: American Jews, the First Amendment, and the Politics of Abortion

Описание: Liberal, religious Jews strongly advocated for legal abortion access between the 1970s and the turn of the twenty-first century. Why did they do so, and on what grounds? Rachel Kranson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Jewish Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, shares from her ongoing research and uncovers the history of the American Jewish lawyers and activists who advocated for abortion access to be protected by First Amendment guarantees. Their work has become even more important as the U.S. enters a post-Roe era, and experts are looking for new legal avenues through which to protect reproductive freedom. [November 9, 2023]

The Tam Institute for Jewish Studies (TIJS) at Emory University, established in 1999 to bring together students and scholars in the interdisciplinary exploration of Jewish civilization and culture. In addition to its robust academic program, TIJS engages with the broader community through public events such as the Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild Memorial Lecture, established in 2007 to honor the late Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild (1911-1973), the spiritual leader of Atlanta's Hebrew Benevolent Congregation (“The Temple”), and a voice for social change in the city and throughout the South. Each year a guest scholar memorializes Rothschild with a lecture on a topic relevant to his life and work, such as Jewish ethics, Jewish social movements, modern Judaism, or southern Jewish history.

Co-sponsored by: Emory University’s Center for Ethics, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Center for Women, Departments of History, Political Science, Religion, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Hightower Fund, and Office of Spiritual and Religious Life - Jewish Chaplaincy.