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Judaism: Matters of Life and Death

Jewish attitudes to abortion

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

When a fetus becomes a full person, Mishnah Ohalot 7:6 on a dangerous birth, Exodus 21:22, Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5, when Orthodox Jews permit it, abortion for convenience, and the right to choose.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

What is abortion, and what does the law in Great Britain allow?

Key term

When does Jewish law consider a fetus to become a full person?

Key term

What does Mishnah Ohalot 7:6 teach about a dangerous birth?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is abortion, and what does the law in Great Britain allow?

    Model answer

    Abortion is the deliberate ending of a pregnancy so that it does not result in a birth. The Abortion Act 1967, as amended in 1990, allows it up to 24 weeks if two doctors agree.

  2. 2

    When does Jewish law consider a fetus to become a full person?

    Model answer

    Jewish law treats a fetus as a full person only once its head or most of its body has emerged at birth. Before birth the fetus is valued as a potential life.

  3. 3

    What does Mishnah Ohalot 7:6 teach about a dangerous birth?

    Model answer

    Mishnah Ohalot 7:6 rules that if labour threatens the mother's life, the fetus may be removed to save her. The mother's life comes first because she is already a full person.

  4. 4

    What does Exodus 21:22 suggest about the status of a fetus?

    Model answer

    Exodus 21:22 sets a fine, not the death penalty, for causing a woman to miscarry. The rabbis concluded that a fetus is not yet a full human life.

  5. 5

    What does Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 teach, and how is it used in the abortion debate?

    Model answer

    Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 teaches that destroying a single life is like destroying a whole world. Jews opposed to abortion use it to stress the value of every potential life.

  6. 6

    When do Orthodox Jews permit abortion?

    Model answer

    Orthodox Jews permit abortion when the pregnancy seriously threatens the mother's life or health. Some Orthodox authorities include severe threats to her mental health.

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