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While most major Jewish religious movements discourage abortion, except to save the life of a pregnant woman, authorities differ on when and whether it is permitted in other cases. There is no direct reference in the Hebrew Bible to an intentional termination of pregnancy.
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, see footnote11).
The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade raises questions over whether a complete prohibition on abortion goes against Jewish law and tradition. Get insights from Brandeis University legal scholar Lisa Fishbayn Joffe, who argues that anti-abortion laws may infringe on religious freedoms.
Jewish law does not share the belief common among abortion opponents that life begins at conception, nor does it legally consider the fetus to be a full person deserving of protections equal those accorded to human beings. In Jewish law, a fetus attains the status of a full person only at birth.
We need to take the side of allowing for safe, legal, available abortions. Jewish law does not align with the Christian right on this issue, and neither should Orthodox Jews.
Judaism Allows and Sometimes Requires Abortion: Recognizing the preciousness of potential life in every fetus, Jewish law generally does not permit the destruction of a fetus without cause. Where there is cause, Judaism permits abortion (Statement on the Permissibility of Abortion, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, 198311).
Abortion is permitted in Judaism, and when the life of the pregnant person is at stake, it is required. Judaism’s approach to abortion finds its basis in the book of Exodus. There’s a...
