Judaism And Abortion
Sandra Gos
Judaism on Abortion.
For several years Abortion has been a hot topic not only in politics but also in numerous religions around the world. When I began to search the view of abortion in the Jewish religion I was astonished. I assumed Judaism is very strict on abortion and is frowned upon in any situation. Once I started to look deeper on this ethical opinion I learned that Judaism is a lot more concerned of the well-being of the living person than the fetus. Though, before proceeding with an abortion it is important to consult with a rabbi and get the approval. Many different things will be considered in this process. The Rabbi will highly consider the pain the mother could potentially go through if the pregnancy persisted. If the mother of the child was raped, or the child was incest abortion is almost necessary for the woman. What shocked me is that is if that child would not be born into a good life it can also be aborted, the Jewish religion is very concerned with the well-being of every living organism in these situations. Though the fetus is a living organism it is not developed enough to be considered a “human” therefore abortion is not against religious rules. Abortion is not referred to in the Hebrew bible so conclusions had to be drawn from the text that was written in the bible. Of course, there always are negatives to abortion in every religion. Some negatives Judaism has to abortion are:
Killing a fetus is wanton destruction of part of God's creation
Killing a fetus destroys something that could become a being
Killing a fetus is an unjustifiable act of wounding
It is wrong to injure oneself
Killing a fetus breaks god’s command to populate the world
(BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.)
As you can see from those examples the well being of the mother is the most important in this social issue. The Rabbi can always reject the option of an abortion if he decides the reason for an abortion is not substantial. I was quite shocked to see the
Judaism on Abortion.
For several years Abortion has been a hot topic not only in politics but also in numerous religions around the world. When I began to search the view of abortion in the Jewish religion I was astonished. I assumed Judaism is very strict on abortion and is frowned upon in any situation. Once I started to look deeper on this ethical opinion I learned that Judaism is a lot more concerned of the well-being of the living person than the fetus. Though, before proceeding with an abortion it is important to consult with a rabbi and get the approval. Many different things will be considered in this process. The Rabbi will highly consider the pain the mother could potentially go through if the pregnancy persisted. If the mother of the child was raped, or the child was incest abortion is almost necessary for the woman. What shocked me is that is if that child would not be born into a good life it can also be aborted, the Jewish religion is very concerned with the well-being of every living organism in these situations. Though the fetus is a living organism it is not developed enough to be considered a “human” therefore abortion is not against religious rules. Abortion is not referred to in the Hebrew bible so conclusions had to be drawn from the text that was written in the bible. Of course, there always are negatives to abortion in every religion. Some negatives Judaism has to abortion are:
Killing a fetus is wanton destruction of part of God's creation
Killing a fetus destroys something that could become a being
Killing a fetus is an unjustifiable act of wounding
It is wrong to injure oneself
Killing a fetus breaks god’s command to populate the world
(BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.)
As you can see from those examples the well being of the mother is the most important in this social issue. The Rabbi can always reject the option of an abortion if he decides the reason for an abortion is not substantial. I was quite shocked to see the