Judaism and Abortion - Orthodox Judaism

Due to the diversity within Orthodox Judaism, there are a range of halakhic opinions about abortion, though they generally prohibit abortion except in quite limited circumstances. All agree, however, that abortion is not only acceptable but mandatory to save a woman's life.

In 2001, Jewish ethicist Daniel Eisenberg summarized the typical exceptions permitted by some authorities: "Judaism recognizes psychiatric as well as physical factors in evaluating the potential threat that the fetus poses to the woman. However, the danger posed by the fetus (whether physical or emotional) must be both probable and substantial to justify abortion. The degree of mental illness which must be present to justify termination of a pregnancy is not well established and therefore criteria for permitting abortion in such instances remain controversial."

Some Orthodox law deciders (poskim) forbid abortion to prevent the birth of a severely defective fetus.

Nonetheless, on scattered occasions, rabbinic authorities have issued more lenient rulings on abortion. Notably, a recent rabbinical authority holds the minority view that a child with known Tay-Sachs disease may be aborted due to its dismal prognosis. As Eisenberg notes, "Rabbi (Eliezer) Waldenberg allows first trimester abortion of a fetus which would be born with a deformity that would cause it to suffer, and termination of a fetus with a lethal fetal defect such as Tay Sachs up to the end of the second trimester of gestation."

Among Orthodox Jews, abortion has re-emerged as a controversial topic due to the debate over stem cell research. In general, Orthodox Jewish medical ethics tend to favor medical research. Some interest has been articulated to support stem cell research and, in so doing, demonstrate Jewish law's leniency toward abortion of "pre-embryo" cells. Thus, Eisenberg emphasizes that "Rabbi Yechiel Weinberg (author of the Responsa Seridei Aish), clearly held that there is no prohibition of abortion before forty days according to Rabbi Trani's opinion since there is no 'limb' to injure prior to formation of a recognizable fetus at forty days. Rabbi Weinberg himself at first permitted abortion prior to forty days, but later reconsidered his position, not because of the prohibition on abortion, but out of different considerations" In writings on stem cell research, Rabbi Moshe Dovid Tendler has supported the use of pre-embryonic cells, whereas Rabbi J. David Bleich has opposed destruction of stem cells.