The Rabbi Suing Florida Over Religious Freedom

In June 2022, Rabbi Barry Silver filed a lawsuit seeking to block Florida’s 15-week abortion ban. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the new law unconstitutional under the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) as well as the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The suit argues that the 15-week abortion ban represents just one religious group’s views and not those of other faiths and/or secular beliefs. Rabbi Silver is a public interest attorney and Rabbi of Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor in Boynton Beach, Florida, which he co-founded with his father, Rabbi Samuel Silver.

Rabbi Barry Silver served as a Representative in the Florida Legislature and was named the most effective environmental legislator by the Sierra Club, Consumer Champion by Florida’s largest consumer group, Victim’s Rights champion by the Black Police Officers of America, and most recently, Outstanding Feminist of the Year by the Palm Beach County chapter of the NOW organization. In this webinar, moderated by JFASD’s National Coordinator Katie Reiter and SHJ Executive Director Paul Golin, we hear directly from Rabbi Silver about this important case and where it stands now.