Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Lawsuits Seeking To Overturn State-Wide Abortion Bans Are Now Using 'Religious Freedom' Argument Against Them

reproductive rights protesters
Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Non-Christian women in red states are using 'religious freedom' argument in lawsuits to overturn abortion bans.

Arguments about religious beliefs are cited constantly by those arguing against reproductive freedoms and seeking to ban abortions, but there are a whole lot of religions that have no problem with abortions—including many denominations of Christianity.

Cara Berg Raunick, a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner from Indianapolis, took issue with a recently passed abortion ban in her state. Berg Raunick, who is Jewish, disagreed strongly with legislators' claims to a belief life begins at conception–a very common claim among those seeking to prevent abortion access.


She said that life beginning at conception was a "Christian definition."

Berg Raunick said:

"That is a religious and values-based comment."
"A fetus is potential life, and that is worthy of great respect and is not to be taken lightly, but it does not supersede the life and health of the mother, period."

Disputes with the law like Berg Raunick's are the key to a lawsuit filed in October of 2022 that challenged the law based on it violating the religious freedoms of those whose faiths don't ban abortions.

The lawsuit, brought by five anonymous Indiana residents and the group Hoosier Jews for Choice, argued the ban violates their religious rights related to when they believe abortion is acceptable.

More specifically, the lawsuit cites Jewish law pertaining to when the fetus becomes a person.

"... under Jewish law, a fetus attains the status of a living person only at birth."
"Rabbinic sources note that prior to the 40th day of gestation, the embryo is considered to be 'mere water.'"
"Thereafter, the embryo or fetus is considered a physical part of the woman’s body, not having a life of its own or independent rights."

The suit further clarifies:

"Jewish law recognizes that abortions may occur, and should occur as a religious matter, under circumstances not allowed by S.E.A. 1 or existing Indiana law."
"An abortion should be allowed if necessary to prevent the mother’s mental anguish that could arise [7] from severe physical or mental health issues, even if there is not a physical health risk that is likely to cause substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function."

And just to really bring the point home:

"Jewish law stresses the necessity of protecting the life and physical and mental health of the mother prior to birth as the fetus is not yet deemed to be a person."
"As noted by the 19th century Orthodox Rabbi, Moshe of Pressburg, '[N]o woman is required to build the world by destroying herself.'"

Ken Falk, legal director of ACLU of Indiana, said of the abortion ban:

"The ban on abortion will substantially burden the exercise of religion by many Hoosiers who, under the new law, would be prevented from obtaining abortions, in conflict with their sincere religious beliefs."




This lawsuit is just one of many throughout the country seeking to overturn the many state-level abortion bans that came about after the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade and ended abortion protections at the national level.

More recently, Berg Raunick—who is a member of Hoosier Jews for Choice but not a plaintiff in the lawsuit—said of the situation:

"That has to mean protecting all religions, not just Christianity, and not just the majority."
"Now, we sort of wait and see how how true that is."

We will all have to wait and see whether the argument that these bans violate state residents' Constitutionally protected religious freedoms is a successful method of overturning these bans.

More from News

Scarlett Johansson; Ye
John Phillips/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures, Jon Kopaloff/WireImage/GettyImages

Scarlett Johansson Shares Warning After AI Video Of Her Condemning Ye Goes Viral

Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson spoke out against a faked video using the likeness of her and other industry A-listers bashing disgraced rapper Ye for his blatant antisemitism.

She called it the "misuse of A.I., no matter its messaging" and warned that by perpetually relying on AI systems to convey messages, we risk "losing a hold on reality."

Keep ReadingShow less
Google map change of "Gulf of Mexico" to "Gulf of America"
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

People Kept Leaving Bad Reviews For 'Gulf Of America' On Google Maps—And Google Just Shut Them Down

After Google Maps changed the name of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America" to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order, people kept leaving negative reviews, and Google was not happy about it.

On Wednesday, Google updated the location’s name following President Donald Trump’s order to change it in official government records. Clicking on the label for the Gulf in Google Maps now displays a message stating, "posting is currently turned off."

Keep ReadingShow less
TikToker discussing extinction burst theory
@ohhthatsrich/TikTok

TikToker Explains How MAGA Is A Perfect Example An 'Extinction Burst'—And It Totally Tracks

One of the most mystifying things about Trump's win is how furious conservatives still are.

They won the presidency against all odds, AND the Senate AND the House and their faves are dismantling the country before our eyes just like they've always wanted, and they're still. So. Angry. All. The. Time.

Keep ReadingShow less
President Donald Trump
YouTube/CBS News

Trump Goes Off On 'New Theory' About Magnets In Bizarre Rant About 'Fraud'

President Donald Trump was criticized after he rambled incoherently about the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier using magnets to "lift the planes up" instead of hydraulics while he ranted to reporters about uncovering the "tremendous fraud" in the U.S. government.

During his remarks at the White House on Wednesday, Trump was asked how he could ensure that billionaire ally Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was effectively reducing spending.

Keep ReadingShow less
Closeup on hands holding Rubix's Cube
Olav Ahrens Røtne/Unsplash

The Creepiest Displays Of Intelligence People Have Ever Seen

You don't have to be booksmart to be considered a genius.

In fact, those who possess superior intelligence slip can fly under the radar undetected until they open their mouth to espouse a mind-blowing fact nobody ever saw coming.

Keep ReadingShow less