Medical Background
Information from Planned Parenthood
What is an abortion?
An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. The procedure is done by a licensed health care professional. The decision to end a pregnancy is very personal.
What do the different types of abortion mean?
Medical - Medication abortion — also called the abortion pill — is a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy. “Abortion pill” is the common name for using two different medicines to end a pregnancy: mifepristone and misoprostol. First, you take a pill called mifepristone. Pregnancy needs a hormone called progesterone to grow normally. Mifepristone blocks your body’s own progesterone, stopping the pregnancy from growing. Then you take the second medicine, misoprostol, either right away or up to 48 hours later. This medicine causes cramping and bleeding to empty your uterus. It’s kind of like having a really heavy, crampy period, and the process is very similar to an early miscarriage.
Surgical - In-clinic abortion works by using suction to take a pregnancy out of your uterus. There are a couple of kinds of in-clinic abortion procedures. A suction abortion (also called vacuum aspiration) is the most common type of in-clinic abortion. It uses gentle suction to empty your uterus. It’s usually used until about 14-16 weeks after your last period. A Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) is another kind of in-clinic abortion procedure. It uses suction and medical tools to empty your uterus. You can get a D&E later in a pregnancy than aspiration abortion -- usually if it has been 16 weeks or longer since your last period.
Jewish Source Texts
On When Life Begins:
Source 4: Yevamot 69b
And if she is pregnant, until forty days from conception the fetus is merely water. It is not yet considered a living being.
עַד אַרְבָּעִים דְּאִי לָא מִיעַבְּרָא הָא לָא מִיעַבְּרָא וְאִי מִיעַבְּרָא עַד אַרְבָּעִים מַיָּא בְּעָלְמָא הִיא
Source 5: Mishnah Torah 3:2
The sages say: anything that has not the shape of a human being cannot be regarded as a human child.
וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, כֹּל שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ מִצּוּרַת אָדָם, אֵינוֹ וָלָד.
Source 6: Gittin 23b:9
A fetus is considered as its mother’s thigh (ie part of her body, and not a separate being).
עוּבָּר יֶרֶךְ אִמּוֹ הוּא.
Source 3: Exodus 21:22-23
(22) When [two or more] parties fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other damage ensues, the one responsible shall be fined according as the woman’s husband may exact, the payment to be based on reckoning. (23) But if other damage ensues, the penalty shall be life for life.
(22) וְכִֽי־יִנָּצ֣וּ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְנָ֨גְפ֜וּ אִשָּׁ֤ה הָרָה֙ וְיָצְא֣וּ יְלָדֶ֔יהָ וְלֹ֥א יִהְיֶ֖ה אָס֑וֹן עָנ֣וֹשׁ יֵעָנֵ֗שׁ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָשִׁ֤ית עָלָיו֙ בַּ֣עַל הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וְנָתַ֖ן בִּפְלִלִֽים׃ (23) וְאִם־אָס֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֑ה וְנָתַתָּ֥ה נֶ֖פֶשׁ תַּ֥חַת נָֽפֶשׁ׃
On Abortion:
Source 7: Mishnah Ohalot 7:6
If a woman is having trouble giving birth, they cut up the child in her womb and brings it forth limb by limb, because her life comes before the life of [the child]. But if the greater part has come out, one may not touch it, for one may not set aside one person's life for that of another.
הָאִשָּׁה שֶׁהִיא מַקְשָׁה לֵילֵד, מְחַתְּכִין אֶת הַוָּלָד בְּמֵעֶיהָ וּמוֹצִיאִין אוֹתוֹ אֵבָרִים אֵבָרִים, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁחַיֶּיהָ קוֹדְמִין לְחַיָּיו. יָצָא רֻבּוֹ, אֵין נוֹגְעִין בּוֹ, שֶׁאֵין דּוֹחִין נֶפֶשׁ מִפְּנֵי נָפֶשׁ:
In Civil Law
Why is the Civil Law relevant to Judaism’s take on abortion?
The short answer is dina d'malkhuta dina - the Jewish principle of obeying the law of the land.
Source 1: Jeremiah 29:7
And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to HaShem in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.
וְדִרְשׁ֞וּ אֶת־שְׁל֣וֹם הָעִ֗יר אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגְלֵ֤יתִי אֶתְכֶם֙ שָׁ֔מָּה וְהִתְפַּֽלְל֥וּ בַעֲדָ֖הּ אֶל־HaShem כִּ֣י בִשְׁלוֹמָ֔הּ יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם שָׁלֽוֹם׃
Is abortion legal in the USA? - Abortion in the United States is legal, subject to balancing tests tying state regulation of abortion to the three trimesters of pregnancy, via the landmark 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, the first abortion case to be taken to the Supreme Court. However, individual states can regulate and limit the use of abortion or create "trigger laws", which would make abortion illegal within the first and second trimesters if Roe were overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States. In accordance with the US Supreme Court case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), states cannot place legal restrictions posing an undue burden for "the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus."
A leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court’s deliberations in a related case suggests that the Court plans to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing a Constitutional right to abortion. (medicalnewstoday)
As we consider the future of abortion access in this country, it may be helpful to note that abortion access is not only a 14th Amendment issue, as the Supreme Court itself ruled with Roe v. Wade in 1973, but a 1st Amendment issue, in light of the fact that pregnancy termination is not only permitted by Judaism but, at times required. (NCJW article)
Source 2: US Constitution, Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
“Pro-Life” (Anti-Choice) Arguments
The anti-choice arguments are plentiful. Here are some examples, along with their counter-points.
From abortion.procon.org
Abortion is Murder
Argument: The killing of an innocent human being is wrong, even if that human being has yet to be born. The federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act states that an unborn child is a “member of the species homo sapiens.”
Counter-Argument: Different religions define the beginning of life differently. Embryos and fetuses are not independent, self-determining beings, and abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby. A person’s age is calculated from birth date, not conception, and fetuses are not counted in the US Census.
Fetuses feel pain
Argument: Maureen Condic, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, explains that the “most primitive response to pain, the spinal reflex,” is developed by eight weeks gestation.
Counter-Argument: According to Stuart W. G. Derbyshire, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, “fetuses cannot be held to experience pain. Not only has the biological development not yet occurred to support pain experience, but the environment after birth, so necessary to the development of pain experience, is also yet to occur.” The “flinching” and other reactions seen in fetuses when they detect pain stimuli are mere reflexes, not an indication that the fetus is perceiving or “feeling” anything.
Adults should take responsibility for their actions
Argument: People need to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences. Having sexual intercourse, even when contraceptive methods are used, carries with it the risk of a pregnancy. The unborn baby should not be punished for a mistake made by adults. If people with uteruses are unprepared to care for their children, they should at least put them up for adoption.
Counter-Argument: If this was truly the issue, then whomever impregnated the person in question would also automatically be held to the requirement for financially and emotionally supporting the pregnant person and the baby.
Abortion eliminates the potential societal contributions of a future human being
Argument: According to Heisman Trophy-winning football player Tim Tebow, “the reason I’m here” is because his mother ignored the advice of doctors who recommended an abortion. It has also been reported that the mothers of entertainers Celine Dion, Cher, and Justin Bieber were either advised to have abortions or were considering the procedure, but chose to give birth to their babies instead.
Counter-Argument: The inability to have a safe abortion eliminates the potential societal contributions of the pregnant person. Additionally, many people who choose abortion don’t have the financial resources to support a child. 38% said giving birth would interfere with their education and career goals.
Pro-Choice Arguments
The pro-choice arguments are plentiful. Here are some examples, along with their counter-points.
From abortion.procon.org
Reproductive choice empowers childbearers by giving them bodily autonomy
Argument: The choice over when and whether to have children is central to a childbearer’s independence and ability to determine her future. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote in the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, “The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in her dissenting opinion in Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) that undue restrictions on abortion infringe upon “a woman’s autonomy to determine her life’s course, and thus to enjoy equal citizenship stature.”
Counter-Argument: If you aren’t ready to carry a child, you shouldn’t have sex. Contraceptives fail, and the unborn baby should not be punished for a mistake made by adults.
You can’t ban abortion, you can only ban safe abortion
Argument: Before abortion was legalized childbearers would frequently try to induce abortions by using coat hangers, knitting needles, or radiator flush, or by going to unsafe “back-alley” abortionists. In 1972, there were 39 maternal deaths from illegal abortions. By 1976, after Roe v. Wade had legalized abortion nationwide, this number dropped to two. The World Health Organization estimated that unsafe abortions cause 68,000 maternal deaths worldwide each year, many of those in developing countries where safe and legal abortion services are difficult to access.
Counter-Argument: When people do illegal things, they often put themselves in danger. Those people should not have tried to have an illegal abortion.
A baby should not come into the world unwanted
Having a child is an important decision that requires consideration, preparation, and planning. Unintended pregnancies are associated with birth defects, low birth weight, maternal depression, increased risk of child abuse, lower educational attainment, delayed entry into prenatal care, a high risk of physical violence during pregnancy, and reduced rates of breastfeeding.
Counter-Argument: There are lots of families that would like to adopt children!!
Abortion reduces crime.
Around 18 years after abortion was legalized, crime rates began to drop abruptly. Because “women who have abortions are those most at risk to give birth to children who would engage in criminal activity,” and women who had control over the timing of childbearing were more likely to raise children in optimal environments, crime is reduced when there is access to legal abortion.
Counter-Argument: It is immoral to kill an unborn child for convenience. Even criminals are people and shouldn’t be murdered.
More Resources
Want to learn more about jewish takes?
Check out NCJW’s Abortion and Jewish Values Toolkit: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/39bd7b7ff3.html#page/1
Check out MyJewishLearning’s Take Here: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/abortion-in-jewish-thought/
Looking for options for yourself or a loved one?
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion
Want to Yell About It?
https://jewishrallyforabortionjustice.org/
Jewish Rituals surrounding Abortion: