Judaism & Abortion (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Judaism: The nature of abortion

The nature of abortion

• Abortion is the deliberate ending of a pregnancy by removing a foetus through surgical or medical means

• There are many reasons why someone might consider getting an abortion. These include situations when:

  • The foetus has inherited a genetic condition which would cause it to suffer greatly 

  • The mother is too young to care for a baby

  • A woman has become pregnant as a result of rape or incest

  • A woman requires medical treatment that will end the pregnancy e.g. chemotherapy

  • The pregnancy was unplanned, and the mother does not want children

  • The father does not want to be involved, and the mother doesn’t feel she can cope alone

• In the UK abortion has been legal since the 1967 Abortion Act, providing certain conditions are met. These were amended in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990

• Currently, UK law permits abortions in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, provided that two doctors agree and one of these conditions applies

  • The unborn child may be severely disabled

  • The mother’s physical or mental health is at risk

  • Any existing children would be at risk

Judaism, abortion and the sanctity of life

• There are different Jewish views on abortion, but ultimately all religions believe that abortion is not a good thing

  • This is because of their belief in the sanctity of life and the fact that humans should not decide who lives or dies

    • The sanctity of life is the idea that human life is important because it is part of God’s creation

    • This is a core idea in any part of religious ethics that deals with the value of life

Divergent Jewish teachings about abortion

• Jews believe that all life is created by God and is God’s gift. All humans are made in the image of God 

• The Psalms describes how even an unborn child is part of God’s creation 

• The teaching that only God gave life, so only God can take it away would apply to the issue of abortion since it removes the right of any human to decide whether the child should be born or not:

• According to the Mishnah, Jews must always uphold the sanctity of life:

• Because of the importance of the sanctity of life, some Jews are opposed to abortion in any circumstance, since only God should decide whether the child survives or not

  • Abortion is removing something from the world that God intends to be there

  • Abortion is removing something that is made in God's image

  • Abortion is going against God's command to 'be fruitful and multiply'

• However, Judaism does not forbid abortion completely

• As a general rule, Judaism is opposed to abortion if it is carried out for non-medical reasons because of the teachings about the sanctity of life

  • Jews would apply the principle of Pikuach nefesh to the situation and say that Jews have a duty to do all they can to save human life, not end it

• However, Judaism does not teach that the life of the unborn child is more important than that of the mother

• The foetus is not seen as a human until birth

• Therefore if there are medical reasons why the pregnancy cannot continue, most rabbis would agree that an abortion should be allowed

• These reasons may include:

  • The mother's life is endangered if the pregnancy continues

  • The mother's physical or mental health may be damaged

  • The child is likely to be severely disabled and unable to live a full life

• Abortion should only be carried out for medical reasons because of the principle of Pikuach Nefesh, not for convenience

Jewish responses to non-religious arguments about abortion

• Abortion is a controversial issue

• Non-religious people such as atheists and humanists might say that the mother should have complete choice over what happens to the foetus since it is her body. These views are known as pro-choice

  • The British Humanist Association has issued a pro-choice statement about abortion, saying

• Religious people who believe in the sanctity of life are more likely to take a pro-life stance because they believe that the unborn child is a creation of God and has a right to life

• Jews would take a pro-life stance, but the life of the mother would be even more important than the life of the foetus, so if there was a medical reason for terminating the pregnancy to preserve the life of the mother, that would be seen as the correct course of action

Judaism: ethical theories & abortion

• Situation ethics is the ethical theory that seeks the most loving action in the circumstances

• In the case of abortion, there is much to consider when thinking about what the most loving action would be

  • If the mother’s life is at risk if her mental and/or physical health would be greatly affected by giving birth, if she has been raped if she feels incapable of giving the baby a good life, what is the most loving thing to do for her? 

  • If the child is likely to be physically or mentally disabled, or if it will be born into poverty, what is the most loving thing to do for the baby?

• In these difficult situations, perhaps the most loving act towards both the mother and the unborn child would be to allow an abortion

• Many Jews would agree with this since the principle of Pikuach Nefesh would mean that the mother’s life and health should be the primary consideration

• However, Jews would also uphold the teachings in the Torah about the sanctity of life and would say that unless there is a medical reason for the abortion, only God can decide when life begins or ends