Jewish Views on Abortion

sarahbear1750

I GaG user: OH GOSH PLEASE NO....NOT ANOTHER TOPIC ON ABORTION. PLEASE LET ME LIVE IN PEACE. YOU’RE TORTURING ME!!!!

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PLEASE STOP SARAH! IM BEGGING YOU!!!
PLEASE STOP SARAH! IM BEGGING YOU!!!

Okay, okay, I WILL stop....right after this myTake.

By the way, I don’t want anything antisemetic in the comments or anything that expresses hate towards Jews. You may have your reasons to hate them, but PLEASE...put your hate aside. Try commenting or debating this MyTake using facts or opinions that are related to abortion. Because chance are, if you use hate in your opinion, it is because, you can’t argue a point with real facts.

Jewish Views on Abortion

Okay. I said my piece. Back to the myTake!

IS JUDAISM PRO LIFE OR PRO CHOICE?

While Judaism takes a far less strict approach on abortion than many pro-life Christians/Catholics , there is nonetheless broad objections to abortions without serious cause.

Does Judiasm Believe that Life Starts at the Time of Conception?

Life begins at birth
Life begins at birth

Common among pro lifers, Jewish law does not share the belief that life begins at conception, nor does it legally consider the fetus to be a full person deserving protection equal to human beings. In Jewish law, the fetus attains human status once it is “crowning” during birth. Until then, the fetus has no separate entity and is part of a woman’s body.

the Talmud (Jewish books/Torah) indicates that the ancient rabbis regarded a fetus as part of its mother throughout the pregnancy, depending fully on her for its life. This reinforces the fact that the baby, is in fact part of the mother and does not have separate life.

SO...if Judaism sees the baby as being part of the mother, is Judaism pro-choice?

Ironically, the answer is no. The baby may be part of the mother, but it is not “her body, her choice”.

Religion vs. Ethics
Religion vs. Ethics

Judaism teaches that the body is ultimately the property of God and is merely on loan to human beings. This leads to prohibitions on suicide, getting tattoos and wounding oneself. Believing that the body belongs to God reinforces the idea that individuals, wether pregnant or not, have limited rights to make choices regarding their own bodies.

What to do?
What to do?

Are there any exceptions to Judaism in which abortion is acceptable?

Yes. There are Orthodox sources that support abortion when a mother’s health is in danger, when a fetus is determined to suffer from severe abnormalities, when a mother’s mental health is in danger; or when the pregnancy is the result of a forbidden sexual union (e.g. incest and possibly rape).

However, all these exceptions must be reviewed and analyzed before permitting an abortion.

So...what side is Judaism on?

Pick a side!
Pick a side!

Because of religious beliefs, Judaism tends to lean more towards “pro life”, due to the fact that many traditional Jews believe our bodies belong to God-and it is therefore, Gods decisions-not the man, not the woman’s. Though there are many Jews who are pro choice and continue to protest on abortion rights everyday.

I hope you enjoyed this myTake. Feel free to suggest othe ones!

I want you to know, This is NOT a disrespect to whatever beliefs you have on this topic. I am just explaining a Jewish view on this and I’m in no way trying to degrade others people’s choices. I can’t imagine how hard and extremely painful being pregnant must be, nor am I well educated enough to determine wether I’m pro life or pro choice. I am so sorry if I offended anyone. It was never my intention whatsoever.

Disclaimer: This information was referenced from jewish articles and academic sources

Jewish Views on Abortion
33 Opinion