Abortion in Israel - Judaism On Abortion

Judaism On Abortion

Further information: Religion and abortion#Judaism

The Torah contains no direct references to pregnancy termination, only to miscarriage following violent altercation.

The Mishnah reference in Oholot 7, 7 has been open to debate. Although the verse does not refer directly to abortion, it does refer to a case of life-threatening childbirth and, if the birth is partial or the head has not yet emerged, the fetus can be killed to save the life of the woman (see pikuach nefesh).

Maimonides codified in the Mishneh Torah that the definition of murder according to the Noahide Laws includes a person who kills "even one unborn in the womb of its mother," and adds that such a person is liable for the death penalty. The killing of an embryo is also recognized as murder in the Talmud Sanhedrin 57b: "A heathen is executed..for the murder of an embryo..Because it is written, Whoso sheddeth the blood of man within man, shall his blood be shed. What is a man within another man? An embryo in his mother's womb." Another explicit reference to abortion is in the Zohar, where it is likewise forbidden.

In regard to life-risking pregnancies, Jewish scholar Rashi said that a fetus is not a viable soul until it's been born, and killing it to save the woman is permitted. Maimonides supported the ruling using din rodef (Hebrew: דין רודף), thus likening an endangering pregnancy to the fetus killing the woman.

The question of the fetus's viability is addressed in two sources in the Talmud: in Yevamot 69, 2 the fetus in the first forty days of pregnancy is likened to water, "עד ארבעים יום מיא בעלמא"; in Nida 8, 2 the fetus is recognized from the second trimester, three months into the pregnancy, "וכמה הכרת עובר ... שלשה חדשים".

Jewish law permits abortion in order to save the life of the mother. Various Jewish scholars have expressed additional lenient stances on abortions under specific circumstances. These include contemporary scholar Eliezer Waldenberg, who argued in favor of abortions in cases of serious birth defects or extreme mental or psychological danger to the woman.