Shalom, y’all!

I’m Sheila Katz, CEO of National Council of Jewish Women, a 131-year-old Jewish feminist civil rights organization working for equity and justice for all women, children, and families. Our work is rooted in the belief that every person deserves to live with dignity, safety, and freedom. 

I’m here today as a Jewish woman, a community leader — and as someone who believes that access to health care is not just a policy issue. It is a matter of human dignity.

This morning, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic — a case that could have devastating consequences for millions of people who rely on Medicaid for essential health services.

Let me be clear: this is not just a legal case. This is a moral moment.

Medicaid is a lifeline. It’s not a luxury or a perk. It’s how millions of people access cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, contraception, and prenatal care.

It’s the difference between prevention and crisis, between early detection and a funeral.

And for so many — especially in rural areas or underserved communities — Planned Parenthood is the only provider they can realistically access. Telling people they can’t go there isn’t about protecting patients — it’s about punishing them for being poor.

It’s about political control, not care.

The people who will be hurt most by this case — low-income women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals — are already navigating a health care system designed to make them feel invisible.

And now, some want to go even further — to dictate which doctors they can see, to deny them care entirely, simply because they’re on Medicaid and the provider is Planned Parenthood.

What kind of cruelty is that?

How small — how morally bankrupt — do you have to be to try to make it harder for someone to get a mammogram?

This case is not about law. It’s about power — and the willingness to wield that power against the most vulnerable.

And when Christian extremists suggest that getting STI testing or a cancer screening from Planned Parenthood is somehow wrong — we must raise our voices louder.

Louder for the dignity of the people seeking health care.

Louder in support of Planned Parenthood. 

Louder for the truth: that access to care is a human right. And no one — no politician, no judge, no one with an extremist agenda — should stand in the way of that.

To turn anyone away from live-saving health care is not only unjust — it is inhumane.

In Jewish tradition, we are guided by the principle of pikuach nefesh — the mandate to save and protect life.

There is no higher commandment in Judaism. It is so important that saving a life supersedes nearly all of the other commandments we have. Nothing can stand in the way of saving a life.

In fact, Jewish law teaches you can even break Shabbat — one of our most sacred observances — to protect someone’s health.

If someone is sick, you drive them to the hospital. You call for help. You act without hesitation. Because the well-being of a person comes before ritual, before tradition — before everything.

And there is no clearer moral failing than preventing people from accessing life saving healthcare.

In just ten days, Jewish families around the world will gather to celebrate Passover — our ancient story of liberation. A holiday that commands us not just to remember the Exodus, but to imagine ourselves as if we personally escaped from Egypt.

Why? So we never forget what it means to be vulnerable. So we never ignore the suffering of others. So we understand — deep in our bones — that the fight for freedom is not theoretical. It is personal. And it is ongoing.

Passover teaches us that our freedom is not complete until everyone is free. That redemption is not just a story we tell — it is a call to action.

Because liberation is not a moment in history — it is a responsibility.

It is a torch we carry forward. A torch we carry here today.

A torch we use now because denying someone essential — lifesaving — health care is not freedom. It is a moral abandonment.

So when those in power seek to cut people off from care — we will not stand idly by.

When health care is treated like a privilege and not a right — we will not stand idly by.

When they use legal loopholes to deny people their bodily autonomy — we will not stand idly by.

Together, we must build a country where saving lives is a sacred priority.

Where care is accessible, compassionate, and rooted in dignity.

Where every person — no matter who they are or where they live, or how much money they have— has the right to the health care they need to thrive.

Together, we will keep going — with open hearts and unwavering hope — until every person is seen, cared for, and able to live with dignity.