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Hi, everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying the warm, summery weather our region is experiencing. I know in Houston it has been hot, hot, hot already, so I’ve been looking for things to do inside. That included reading our May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine from cover to cover. It is full of timely articles including “Keeping Up the Fight for Reproductive Rights” and “Israel’s Take on Abortion.”
For decades, Hadassah members and leaders from across the political spectrum have mobilized for reproductive freedom. We’ve passed five policy statements addressing the right to reproductive choice. Thousands of Hadassah members turn out for Days of Action when it matters, including the March for Women’s Lives in 1989, 1992, and again in 2004, when Hadassah’s National President June Walker addressed a crowd of over one million people. On May 4, our National President, Rhoda Smolow, sent out a letter via email regarding the leaked draft majority Supreme Court opinion about ending women’s right to make reproductive choices for themselves which, if confirmed, will leave it up to each state to protect us. In 2021 nineteen states, among them Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma have passed reproductive health restrictions. Rhoda and our CEO, Naomi Adler, have stated, "When a women’s right to choose is limited, we also limit her right to safe, informed medical decisions and procedures.”
It’s crucial that women are empowered with the knowledge they need to make critical health decisions for themselves and their families. Hadassah believes that reproductive health choices must be based on full and accurate medical information and guidance, and made in accordance with a woman’s own religious, moral and ethical values. “Keeping Up the Fight for Reproductive Rights,” on page 35- 36 of our magazine shares information you can use to become an advocate for a woman’s rights to reproductive freedom of choice. Our state legislators need to hear from us. We need to let them know that women’s health matters to us. That women’s dignity matters to us. And that protecting women’s choice matters to us.
 On a national level, it’s essential that we urge Congress to ensure access to quality and comprehensive reproductive health services for all women in the United States, and that they speak out against these state restrictions to reproductive rights. We hope you’ll join us at hadassah.org/actioncenter, where we make it easy to advocate.
Write to your state and federal legislators. Call them. Visit them. Then write and call again. Make your voice heard. And talk to your friends about why you care. Together, we will win and make certain that the women have the tools they need to take care of their own bodies.
If you want to find out how another country looks at abortion rights, read the article, “Israel’s Take on Abortion” on pages 24 – 29 of the May/June issue of Hadassah magazine.
On another topic, Hadassah’s Ukraine campaign has ended. Thanks to all of you who donated, we raised $1.1 million nationwide for this campaign. The important work of our doctors working in Poland to set up and man clinics and to teach trauma care will be continued by Doctors Without Borders.
As you travel this summer, stay well. And please stay informed and advocate. As always, I thank you for everything you do to keep Hadassah strong and growing.
Sandra Binder Smith
President, Hadassah Greater Southwest Region
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