Menu

NCJW Leads 39 Faith Organizations in an Amicus Brief with the Indiana Supreme Court

NCJW has fought Indiana’s abortion ban in court three times. Now, we’re back in defense of reproductive and religious freedom.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 6, 2026
PRESS CONTACT: press@ncjw.org

WASHINGTON, DC — Over the weekend, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) filed an amicus brief with the Indiana Supreme Court in Individual Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana v. Anonymous Plaintiff 1, a landmark religious freedom challenge to the state’s near-total abortion ban. NCJW is joined by 39 organizations representing a diverse range of faith traditions, continuing the organization’s multi-year leadership in this case.

In response, Jody Rabhan, CEO of National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) — the nation’s leading Jewish feminist civil rights organization, representing 250,000 changemakers across the United States and Israel — released the following statement:

“Indiana’s abortion ban does not just restrict health care — it violates religious freedom for Jewish people and other people of faith. That is not an abstraction. It is the lived reality of the plaintiffs in this case, who made the brave decision to bring their religious beliefs into a court of law. They have already won.

“NCJW has joined these plaintiffs every step of the way, and we are not done. For the third time, we are bringing a powerful, multifaith coalition before the court to share what our tradition has always taught: the health, dignity, and autonomy of the pregnant person comes first. Jewish law does not simply permit abortion, but in some circumstances, it even requires it. No state legislature gets to override that.

“The Indiana Supreme Court now has the opportunity to affirm what lower courts have already recognized: that forcing people to abandon their religious beliefs in order to comply with a narrow, Christian belief is a substantial burden on free exercise, full stop. We will keep filing, keep leading, and keep demanding until every person in Indiana — and across this country — can make their own health care decisions in accordance with their own faith and conscience.

“Reproductive freedom is religious freedom. We have said it before, and we will say it again — in every court and in every legislative body across the country.”

Read the full amicus brief here.

Organizational Brief Signers: 

  • National Council of Jewish Women
  • Alliance of Baptists
  • American Humanist Association
  • Avodah
  • Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice.
  • Catholics for Choice
  • DignityUSA
  • Elluminate
  • 1Faithful America
  • Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America
  • Hindus for Human Rights
  • Interfaith Alliance
  • Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
  • Jewish Center for Justice
  • Jewish Council for Public Affairs
  • Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA)
  • Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
  • Jewish Women International
  • Jews of Color Mishpacha Project
  • JQ International
  • Kehillat Sankofa
  • Keshet
  • Metropolitan Community Churches
  • Moving Traditions
  • Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
  • Muslims for Progressive Values
  • New Jewish Narrative
  • Rabbinical Assembly
  • Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
  • Religious Community for Reproductive Choice
  • SACReD, a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy, Inc
  • Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus
  • The Sikh Coalition
  • Society for Humanistic Judaism
  • T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
  • Unitarian Universalist Association
  • Women of Reform Judaism
  • Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)
  • Women’s Rabbinic Network
  • Zioness Movement

###

National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 133-year-old Jewish feminist civil rights organization working for equity and justice for women, children, and families in the United States and Israel. Through the efforts of our 250,000 grassroots advocates and 45 local sections, NCJW combines education, direct service, and advocacy to effect lasting social change at the local, state, and national levels. We approach our work through the intersections of gender, economic, and racial justice to center those most impacted in a uniquely Jewish way. Learn more at NCJW.org and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

More News