My late mother-in-law Rhoda Kadalie, who passed away on April 16, fought hard for abortion rights in the new South Africa. She was instrumental to their inclusion in the new South African Constitution, in the form of a right to "bodily integrity":
*2. Everyone has the right to bodily and psychological integrity, which includes the right
a. to make decisions concerning reproduction;
b. to security in and control over their body; and
c. not to be subjected to medical or scientific experiments without their
informed consent.*
After moving to the U.S., however, she was shocked at what the pro-choice movement was doing -- namely, arguing for abortion through birth.
That was not what Rhoda signed up for.
In South Africa, the right to abortion typically applies in the early stages of pregnancy, prior to 13 weeks.
In other words, the right to abortion in the world's most liberal constitution is more restrictive than almost every state law on abortion in the U.S.
After 13 weeks, and up to 20 weeks, abortion is only provided for specific reasons. And after 20 weeks, it is only performed to save the life of the mother.
Rhoda didn't "become pro-life." She remained pro-choice. But she came to oppose the contemporary pro-choice movement in the U.S., especially Planned Parenthood, because it tried to ignore the moral question of what abortion meant for the potential human life at stake in late-term pregnancies.
https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/South_Africa_2012.pdf?lang=en
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
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This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
