Abortion Access and Medical Ethics

Jewish Views, Religious Approaches, Legal Context

Offered in person and online.

Participants can sign up for all or some of the sessions.

The issue of abortion access has been intensively discussed in the past few months, especially in light of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision in June reversing two long-standing decisions, Roe and Casey. The TAA Adult Education Committee has organized a series of three presentations to look more deeply at the many issues of abortion in the context of medical ethics, examining the deeper issues that surface when analyzing these Supreme Court decisions. 

Presentation #1 — Jewish Perspectives. Led by TAA’s Rabbi Kudan, this session will focus on the question, When does life begin? from the perspective of Jewish medical ethics.

Presentation #2 — Christian Perspectives. Led by Reverend Dr. Norma Brettell, pastor of the Trinity Congregational Church UCC in Gloucester, this session, will present an overview of the range of approaches within the Christian world.

Presentation #3 — Legal and Constitutional Issues. Norah Wylie, a lawyer and TAA member, will lead this session, which will focus on the question: What exactly did the Dobbs decision do? What are the legal and constitutional bases for maintaining a woman's right to choose in a post-Dobbs world? What impact might the Dobbs decision, and other cases in the 2022 Supreme Court term, have on religious liberties?

Presentations will be held on these dates:



#1: Sunday, Oct. 23 Refreshments at 3:45 pm, presentation from 4-5:30 pm. Options: in-person and online.

#2: Wednesday, Nov. 16 Refreshments at 7:15 pm, presentation from 7:30 to 9 pm. Options: in-person and online.

#3: Sunday, Dec. 4 presentation from 4-5:30 pm. Offered only online.

Short readings will be available in advance. Each session will consist of about 45 minutes of presentation followed by discussion. Registration required. We encourage registration for all three sessions, but you may register for one or more sessions. 

Rabbi David Kudan, the recently appointed rabbi at Temple Ahavat Achim, is a graduate of Hampshire College and holds graduate degrees from Hebrew Union College and Harvard University. Ordained in 1987, he has served congregations in the New York, Boston, and Chicago areas. Rabbi Kudan served as the chair of the Beacon Hospice Ethics Committee for several years, where he guided the committee members’ discussions with front-line medical workers who faced ethical questions in their work with patients and families. Rabbi Kudan is active in interfaith dialogue and is committed to building bridges between the Jewish community and other groups. 

Norah Wylie, a member of Temple Ahavat Achim, is a retired attorney. She served for many years as the Deputy Chief of the Family and Community Crimes Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. More recently, she served as Associate Dean, Dean for Students, and a Lecturer in Law at Boston College Law School, and also as adjunct faculty member at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.  

Rev. Norma Brettell currently serves as pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, UCC in Gloucester, MA, where she has been pastor since 2020. Although she felt called to ministry in her college years, she pursued a career in law and loved serving others in that way. She practiced law as an associate in Boston law firms, as a principal in her own law practice, and as Senior Counsel at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Insurance. When Rev. Norma’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and she became her caregiver, she began her theological education, receiving her Master of Divinity in 2013 with high honors from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, MA. Rev. Norma has served New Hampshire and Massachusetts churches as an Intentional Interim Pastor, Sabbatical Pastor, and Senior Pastor.