On Abortion

Halakha means “law” specifically Jewish law.  Halakha governs the way we approach God, how our courts function, rules of relations, what we wear, commerce and how to tie tzitzit.  The basic Jewish viewpoint is either nothing matters or everything matters.  Needless to say, we take the second opinion.

Halakha is the practical application of the Written Word.  Now, mind you, we do not rest solely on what is written in the Torah.  We “turn it over and over for everything is in it,” as a second century scholar said. So centuries of erudite scholars examining each nuance of the Torah find halakhot that deal with every practical subject you can imagine.

Through America, especially in the south, we are engaged in determining what the civil law should state about abortion.  Right and left-wingers have stated their polar positions.  

What is the Jewish halakha on abortion?

We believe that therapeutic (as opposed to spontaneous) abortion is never good and sometimes is wrong.  For example, having an abortion because of the sex of the child is incorrect.

The Torah itself is quite clear.  Where the fetus represents a danger to the mother, the mother’s life takes precedence. Termed a “rodef” the fetus is viewed as a pursuer threatening a life much as a would-be murderer chases after a potential victim.

The expansion of this thought is where the mental wellbeing of the mother is concerned.  If the mother experiences immeasurable emotional trauma as a result of the birth that also constitutes a reason for allowing abortion. In that instance the birth would cause emotional wreckage that is not too dissimilar from a “rodef.”

Elsewhere in the Torah (Exodus 21) a pregnant woman has an abortion as a result of being pushed or punched.  In that cited case, the halakha determines that there must be a monetary fine. In other words, an unborn child is a life “in potential,” not a fully realized life.  Otherwise it would have been rendered a capital case. In no instance in Jewish law is abortion murder. 

In arguing for civil law to make concrete legislation banning abortion there are many side issues that arise that make the argument for more complex than the presenters argue.  For example, terminating a pregnancy that is non-viable takes time and may well exceed the so-called six week window, let alone earlier.  Often a woman will not even recognize that she is pregnant before six weeks. And in the instance where there is rape or incest court cases can years.  This presents an unfair burden on the victim.

I hope that clearer minds and visions will prevail among the states that like Alabama are moving toward a virtual outlawing of abortion.  Abortion is not a black and white issue.  It has lots of gray, as the halakha teaches us.