Jewish women assemble post-abortion care packages to offer ‘meaningful support’

BY YONATAN GREENBERG |

The 30 volunteers in the social hall of Congregation Beth Am worked with speed and determination, filling canvas bags with chocolates, maxi pads, heat packs, tea bags and cards of well wishes.

On a Sunday afternoon in August, they created more than 200 post-abortion care packages for patients at the Women’s Option Center at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and at FPA Women’s Health clinics in Berkeley, Modesto and Sacramento.

The National Council of Jewish Women San Francisco coordinated the event with the Reform synagogue’s reproductive justice committee. It was the fourth event tied to women’s reproductive health that the Los Altos Hills congregants have organized since April.

Sara Guido, a health care consultant with a doctorate in nursing, is chair of the synagogue’s reproductive justice committee. Guido has recently become more involved at the synagogue after retiring from a two-decade career in maternal-child health care, she said in an interview.

Like many others at the event, Guido is still angry about the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to restrict or ban abortions.

Still, Guido said she knows that abortion advocates can take actions large and small, including offering meaningful support to women who have abortions in California, where the procedure remains legal.

“What we did today gave me hope,” Guido said. “It’s about tikkun olam. It’s about giving back and supporting women who are going through this process.”

Linda Kramer, who has experience both as an attorney and a registered nurse, has been a Beth Am member for five decades.