Judaism On Abortion

According to Aaron L. Mackler, abortion presents the greatest divergence between Roman Catholic and Jewish approaches. In other words, there is a significant difference in the way Roman Catholicism and Judaism views the practice of abortion. As a member of the Abortion in Judaism group, it was my role to find evidence for, and discuss key differences in the perspective of abortion from the Roman Catholic and Jewish perspective. By performing this role, I have become more aware of how abortion itself, the status of the fetus, and killing of humans is viewed by authorities of both these religions. In order to effectively compare the perspectives the Roman Catholic and Jewish religions have on abortion, to the class, our group believed that …show more content…
This was a top priority because we wanted to first educate the class on each perspective, which would allow them to correctly understand the perspective each religion takes regarding abortion, and why it does. By doing this, the class becomes more exposed to other takes on abortion, and may respect the opinions of others more knowing why they might feel a certain way. In regard to the Roman Catholic religion, specifically the magisterium, there is an absolute prohibition against abortion. Put in another way, abortions, when directly terminating a pregnancy or destructing of a fetus, absolutely must not be performed. This goes against preservation of life, held by the Roman Catholics. On a differing note, abortion in Judaism is permitted, by Jewish authorities, if the life of the mother is at risk. This perspective is derived from the notion that the fetus has a lesser status from the woman, and that the fetus can considered an aggressor, which the mother has the choice of aborting as an act of …show more content…
Although, there are circumstances in which abortions are allowed. An example of this would be to save a mother’s life. A fetus has a lesser status than that of the mother, as it is part of the mother. The fetus is not considered a person until birth. Jewish authorities allow abortions for pregnant women at risk of dying. In this case the fetus is considered a pursuer that threatens the life of its mother. Therefore, the mother, a viable person with a higher status than the fetus, is allowed to have an abortion as an act of self-defense. One life can not be taken for another. It is important to mention that an abortion in Judaism absolutely can not occur after a head has been observed during the delivery. This is because the fetus obtained the status of a person, and an abortion would be considered