(Jewish Group) Second gentleman meets with Jewish abortion rights activists at White House
Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff met with representatives from the National Council of Jewish Women at the White House on Monday (Sept. 12) to discuss abortion rights, with activists saying he agreed the topic is a matter of religious freedom for many American Jews.
Sheila Katz, head of the NCJW, called the roughly hourlong meeting she and members of her group convened with Emhoff “wonderfully inspiring.” She said the discussion focused primarily on various state-level battles over abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade earlier this year, ending decades of nationwide legalized abortion.
“One of the more meaningful things he talked about was what it’s like for him to be very vocal as a man on this issue,” Katz said of Emhoff. “He said at one point that men need to ‘Get their heads out of the sand and jump into action.’”
Katz said Emhoff, who is Jewish, also agreed abortion access was “an issue of religious freedom for Jews,” referring to a Jewish understanding of abortion that differs from many conservative Christian approaches to the issue.
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Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, center, poses with representatives from the National Council of Jewish Women on Sept. 12, 2022, at the White House. Photo via Twitter/@NCJW