Jewish traditions toward Abortion
According to Jewish traditions, there is a fairly wide range of potential attitudes toward abortion, however it takes a lot of interpretation to find them all. The main Jewish anti-abortion claims consist of the possible dangers of abortion, the traditional halakhic view of opposition, and the devaluation of human life accompanied by abortion. (Greenberg, 148) However, upon re-examining the texts behind these views, much more evidence can be found to actually support abortion. The possible dangers surrounding abortion mainly revolve around the abuse of scientific manipulation. (Greenberg, 148) However, there's absolutely no evidence that legalizing abortion would increase this rate of abuse at all. In Judaism today, a huge conflict exists between the accepted halakhic position and the individual needs of women. The halakhic view is mainly based on the Jewish texts, but in my opinion they have been misinterpreted due to the times they were studied. Laws and texts are always taken according to culture, and according to the opinions of those interpreting them. Society is only first starting to see things from a feminist perspective, and I think i . . .
(Greenberg, 149) However, the Mishnah also clearly states that the fetus is not a nefesh (human life) until after birth. If nothing else, traditional Jewish thinkers should broaden their acceptance of abortion. (Greenberg, 149) However, today we are in a rapidly changing society. (Greenberg, 150) In the older days, a woman needed to have a lot of children in order to guarantee enough of them would survive. It says that if a man were to harm a pregnant woman so greatly that it kills the fetus, the man gets fined only for damaged property. This is why the Jewish anti-abortion platforms can't include the "right-to-life" motto. (Greenberg, 150) The last Jewish anti-abortion claim is that it may become merely a method of birth control. However, abortion is actually a higher morality. They just can't harm the baby once the majority of the body is out of the mother. ts time to re-evaluate the actual words of these texts. This could lead incapable parents to end up with screwed up children, and society really doesn't need that. There are no Jewish texts that take into account any personal, economic, or family planning matters. " (Greenberg, 149) On the whole, the traditional Jewish view on abortions has always been more permissive than the general Christian view, even though it was usually only performed to save the mother. In addition, there often needs to be more time before a couple is ready to have a family, whether they need to first put themselves through education, stabilize their marriage, or they already have too many kids to handle another.
Common topics in this essay:
According Jewish, Torah Talmud, Kavod Ha-briot, greenberg 149, jewish anti-abortion, jewish texts, greenberg 150, mother greenberg 149, traditional jewish, mother greenberg, halakhic view, according jewish, human life, greenberg 148, |