Last week was the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that ruled that according to the Constitution a woman had the right to choose to have an abortion. This decision has been overturned by the current Supreme Court in 2022. Following the 2022 decision, abortion became the subject of many discussions in the Jewish community.
The vast majority of rabbis, from Orthodox to Humanist, interpret Jewish law as affirming that the life of the mother is sacred, and that abortion is permissible. I have written previously about the permissibility of choosing to have an abortion according to Jewish Law, and I will just reiterate a few points. Until three months of gestation the fetus is considered “as mere water.” In the mishna the rabbis teach that in the case of a difficult delivery, one must save the mother—the fetus has the same halachic status as any one of the mother’s limbs. In Jewish law, a fetus is not an unborn human being, a fetus is a part of the mother’s body. A fetus is a fetus. One cannot leave their inheritance to a fetus. Therefore, in our tradition, abortion is permissible, and in a few cases, involving the health and well-being of the mother, is mandated.
Last week I received an email from a friend forwarding me a publication named, “World Jewish News,” that published an article with the following title: “Orthodox rabbinic group slams lawsuit by ‘woke’ rabbis claiming abortion is a ‘Jewish value’.” As I read the article, I found out that the rabbis issued a statement saying that abortion is a desecration of God’s name. The orthodox rabbis mentioned in the article did not provide a valid halachic point in trying to explain their position. They were obviously taking a political stand, and for that reason could not possibly refute the argument of the rabbis that are bringing arguments in favor of choice. Jewish law provides for abortion to be an option in women’s lives. The decision of the current Supreme Court curtails our ability to practice our religion to its full extent, and against that there is no argument. A Jew may not like the idea of an abortion; and there is no doubt that the choice to have one is provided for in our tradition.
What saddened me was that this publication clearly had the goal to elevate a certain political point of view in order to further divide the Jewish community. The publication is extremely tendentious, taking a political view way to the right of center. People reading this publication may conclude, as did my friend who sent it to me, that it is more important to agree with the views of a political party than it is to work with your fellow Jews. It is better to use inflammatory language to further divide the Jewish community than to lose some kind of bona fides with the right wing of a political party.
Judaism is a religion based on discussion and hearty conversations. We can prove many contradictory things from reading the Bible and Jewish law as decided throughout the centuries. Our foundational document of law, the Talmud, records not only the majority opinion but also contradictory ones, sometimes in the same page. The redactors of the Talmud were excellent editors, and I believe that if they decided to write the document in this way they wanted to imbue all future generations with the certainty that we must honor different opinions, listening to each other with an open mind, knowing that although two opinions may be valid at the same time, sometimes we might decide to live with one opinion and disregard another. These and these are the words of the living God, “Eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim hayim,” affirms the Babylonian Talmud in Massechet Eiruvin, 13b. Our tradition encourages us to have healthy discussions, holding space for many opinions. We are also responsible for each other, and publications as the one that was forwarded to me is plainly being irresponsible.
When a woman decides to have an abortion, in the vast majority of times it is not a decision taken lightly. I count myself very lucky that I never had to make this decision. Every time that I have been involved in this decision, be it as a rabbi or be it as a friend, I have never seen a woman or a couple decide to terminate a pregnancy on a whim. Having an abortion is a difficult and heartbreaking decision, and there is no need to further exacerbate the emotional pain a woman goes through. This reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision will inevitably create hazardous and sad situations, forcing many women to resort to unsafe methods in order to terminate pregnancies, or impeding doctors to give women the care they need for fear of lawsuits. In any case, it does not help anyone to have parents who are unable to take care of their children, perpetuating complicated issues from one generation to another. I am clear that Judaism indeed permits a woman to choose to have an abortion. I am even more clear that dividing the community to bolster readership is a shame. It is shameful and irresponsible to use a political discussion to tear the community apart. I truly hope that whoever is writing these inflammatory remarks realize they are not doing Judaism and the Jews any favors, and refrains from creating further divisiveness.