Voices for WRJ: Parashat Tol'dot

by Abigail Fisher This week we read (Genesis 25:21): “Isaac pleaded with יהוה on behalf of his wife, for she was childless, and יהוה acceded to his entreaty, so his wife Rebekah became pregnant.” Parashat Tol’dot begins with Isaac’s plea to God on behalf of his barren wife, Rebekah, and continues through her difficult pregnancy with twins, and onto the story of those twins, Jacob and Esau. Carol Bakhos, in The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, points out that Rebekah is traditionally seen as one of seven infertile women in the Bible who conceive after prayer. Until the latter part of the 20^th century, prayer was really the only recourse for infertile couples. Today, however, infertile couples face a dizzying array of choices in navigating the medical maze of treatment for infertility. I know, as I am one, or more precisely, one-half of such a couple. Just over 20 years ago, my husband and I abandoned the emotional roller coaster of infertility treatment to welcome the first of our children through the process of adoption. My sister and her husband welcomed two beautiful children through a type of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). We had choices as to how to proceed when faced with infertility. I hope and pray that infertile couples will continue to have choices. We have heard much over the last year about the ‘war on women.’ Usually this is discussed in terms of a woman’s rights to prevent or terminate an unwanted pregnancy. But there is a flip side. Restriction of reproductive rights will also restrict infertile couples’ right to choose certain medical options. So called “personhood” laws would define an embryo as a person, and thus end IVF.  Restrictions on abortion will prevent a couple facing a dangerous multiple pregnancy from reducing the number of fetuses carried to term.  The assault on reproductive rights works both ways—restricting the prevention and termination of unwanted pregnancies, and restricting options for creating pregnancies in the infertile. WRJ has been at the forefront of fighting for reproductive rights for years.  We must and will continue to fight for it in the months and years ahead. The fight for women’s rights will continue and WRJ will lead the way. Abigail Fisher is immediate past president of WRJ Northeast District and a member of Beth El Temple Center in Belmont, MA.