In a recent Forum thread on abortion, the question of Jewish beliefs about abortion came up. Since I don’t know much about Judaism I have been reading about this topic and in the course of that effort I came across this excellent, if brief, summary of an orthodox perspective (from the source link, above):
The Jewish Approach to Abortion in Short
- Under normal circumstances it is forbidden to take the life of an unborn child, and it may be akin to murder (depending on the stage of pregnancy and birth.
- As long as the unborn remains a fetus, it does not have a status of personhood equal to its mother, and therefore may be sacrificed to save the life of the mother.
- In any case where abortion may be necessary, it is of paramount importance to consult halachic [Jewish law] and medical experts as soon as possible.
Assuming that this summary is valid for Judaism in general, I wanted to make the point that secular laws which prohibit merely elective abortions would be compatible with Jewish theology. Such laws may be desirable or undesirable for other reasons, but I think they do not inherently conflict with Judaism.
The Jewish perspective seems admirable to me because it leans heavily toward the preservation of life — not as a dictum, so much, but as recognition that the natural processes of life are to live.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
…does not have the the status of personhood…
That is critical and the right wing demands it does. Huge difference.
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RE: “Under normal circumstances it is forbidden to take the life of an unborn child…”
You can’t shoehorn the acceptability of abortion into the Jewish concept of personhood.
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Chabad Organization is a part of the VERY Orthodox form of Judaism. They do not speak for all and the stand that I have stated before is the one I was raised with in the Temple. Until the baby is born, the life of the mother takes precedence.
And while the natural processes of life is to live, it is still the mother, to the law, that decides.
‘You can’t shoehorn the acceptability of abortion into the Jewish concept of personhood.”
Funny, but that is exactly what is there.
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RE: “Until the baby is born, the life of the mother takes precedence.”
That’s what Chabad says. Also, the personhood of the foetus is real, just inferior to that of the mother. Hence, “Under normal circumstances it is forbidden to take the life of an unborn child…”
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Define normal circumstances. And remember what YOU may think is normal, may not be to the individual. Is rape or incest “normal”?
And yet the GOP in several states want to ban the procedure completely.
And Chabad, which does a lot of good things, is not the end all be all on Judaism. If you look up TALMUD and see how long it takes to read ALL of the rabbinical commentary there. THere is well over 1200 YEARS of discussion and decisions laid out there. CHABAD probably took their positions that you quoted from something found there. But I guarantee you, it is NOT the ONLY definition or position.
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RE: “Define normal circumstances.”
Using the summary as a guide:
RE: “And Chabad, which does a lot of good things, is not the end all be all on Judaism.”
No, but it is authoritative WRT orthodox Judaism. In my reading, I found that many non-orthodox Jews agree with the abortion summary I shared in the post.
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The life of the mother takes precedence if medically necessary not just because you v don’t want the pregnancy but you knew that.
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Who defines “necessary”?
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Regardless of one’s beliefs, the important thing is to keep the abortion issue front and center every few months or so.
Recently 21 SC legislators sponsored a bill for the death penalty for women who abort. It probably won’t pass, but it is critically important to consider. Now a federal judge is going to determine if a safe, common drug used 21 years for as treatment for miscarriages as well as early medical abortions should be banned nationwide. The drug has a lower fatality risk than Viagra. But still might pose health risks. Personhood for a fertilized egg is being bandied about again, 14th Amendment considerations in there too.
I fully support all those efforts, but think that they should be spaced out for the next 19 months or so, in order to give each effort serious, national consideration. After all we are discussing the future generation and who knows which egg will give us the next Einstein, Hawking, Jobs, Washington, Trump…humanity is riding on this.
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RE: “After all we are discussing the future generation and who knows which egg will give us the next Einstein, Hawking, Jobs, Washington, Trump…humanity is riding on this.”
A constructive thought.
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Of course the caveat to this is we never know if the egg could be the next Hitler, Stalin, Dahmer, Pol Pot, Assad, Putin, Trump…
Judging by the seemingly greater quantity of problem children than geniuses, the odds are not great for mankind.
Interestingly enough, we require competency tests for architects, doctors, lawyers, accountants, generals, contractors, barbers, dentists, judges, etc., but none for two of the most far reaching and impactful roles: parenting and politics.
I think that explains a lot with regards to unruly juveniles and equally unruly, juvenile legislators, governors and presidents.
Emotional intelligence is considered a very import character trait for success, financially or otherwise. IMO political leadership is often lacking that.
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You would impose competency tests on parents?
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I wouldn’t.
But it is a thought that before you have children some modicum of financial responsibility and ability to nurture, care and raise children for 18 years would be nice thing.
Irresponsible parenting is after all a demonstrable problem. Don blames feral kids on just that.
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“I wanted to make the point that secular laws which prohibit merely elective abortions would be compatible with Jewish theology.”
Uh, read the Old Testament. Abortion is not only permissable, it is suggested as the proper way to deal with suspected infidelity.
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