Editing Religion and abortion (section)

== Judaism ==
{{main|Judaism and abortion}}
Orthodox Jewish teaching allows abortion if necessary to safeguard the life of the pregnant woman.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/jewishethics/abortion_1.shtml Judaism and Abortion], BBC (2005-02-08).</ref><ref>Bank, Richard. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XQrs25E4IwYC&dq=judaism+abortion&pg=PT203 The Everything Judaism Book], page 186 (Everything Books, 2002).</ref> While the Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative movements openly advocate for the right to a safe and accessible abortion, the Orthodox movement is less unified on the issue.<ref name=PewForum>The Pew Forum. September 30, 2008. [http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=351 ''Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Abortion''], Retrieved on April 29, 2009.</ref> Many Orthodox Jews oppose abortion, except when it is necessary to save a woman's life (or, according to some, the woman's health).

In Judaism, views on abortion draw primarily upon the legal and ethical teachings of the [[Hebrew Bible]], the [[Talmud]], the case-by-case decisions of [[Responsa#In Judaism|responsa]], and other rabbinic literature. Generally speaking, Orthodox Jews oppose abortion after the 40th day,<ref>Talmud, Yevomot 69a states that prior to the 40th day, a foetus is "considered to be mere water"</ref><ref>Grodzenski, Achiezer Vol. 3, 65:14</ref> with health-related exceptions, and reform Jews tend to allow greater latitude for abortion.<ref>Articles published by the [[Schlesinger institute]] on [[Judaism and abortion|abortion in Judaism]]: articles [http://www.medethics.org.il/db/jmeResults.asp?title=abortion&author=&source=&year=&Submit2=%D7%97%D7%A4%D7%A9 in English] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227122253/http://www.medethics.org.il/db/jmeResults.asp?title=abortion&author=&source=&year=&Submit2=%D7%97%D7%A4%D7%A9 |date=2012-02-27 }} and [http://www.medethics.org.il/db/AsiaResults.asp?title=&keywords=20&author=&source=&year=&Submit2=%D7%97%D7%A4%D7%A9 in Hebrew] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227122303/http://www.medethics.org.il/db/AsiaResults.asp?title=&keywords=20&author=&source=&year=&Submit2=%D7%97%D7%A4%D7%A9 |date=2012-02-27 }}, and the [http://www.medethics.org.il/articles/tora/subject18.asp entry on abortion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227122253/http://www.medethics.org.il/db/jmeResults.asp?title=abortion&author=&source=&year=&Submit2=%D7%97%D7%A4%D7%A9 |date=2012-02-27 }} from the Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics (Hebrew)</ref> There are rulings that often appear conflicting on the matter. The Talmud states that a foetus is not legally a person until it is delivered.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Getting-off-the-Bus.html Jewish Abortion perspective 1 on Patheos] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413033311/http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Getting-off-the-Bus.html |date=2010-04-13 }}</ref> The Torah contains the law that, "When men fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman, and a miscarriage results, but no other misfortune, the one responsible shall be fined...but if other misfortune ensues, the penalty shall be life (nefesh) for life (nefesh)." ({{bibleverse||Exodus|21:22-25|HE}}). That is, causing a woman to miscarry is a crime, but not a capital crime, because the fetus is not considered a person.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Responsibility-Not-Rights.html Jewish Abortion perspective 2 on Patheos] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412000426/http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Responsibility-Not-Rights.html |date=2010-04-12 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Biomedical ethics and Jewish law |first=Fred |last=Rosner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7w2oAmohpEC&pg=PA178 |page=178 |publisher=KTAV Publishing House, Inc. |year=2001|isbn=9780881257014 }}</ref>

Jeremiah 1:5 states that, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|1:5|NIV}}</ref> For some, this verse, while talking specifically about [[Jeremiah]], is an indication that God is aware of the identity of "developing unborn human beings even before they enter the womb",<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=YgOqKfCz5I0C&dq=Jeremiah+1%3A5+abortion&pg=PA27 James D. Slack, ''Abortion, Execution, and the Consequences of Taking Life'' (Transaction Publishers 2011] {{ISBN|978-1-41284833-6}}), p. 27</ref> or that for everyone, God has a plan that abortion might be seen as frustrating.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=25IqQdFQtxcC&dq=Jeremiah+1%3A5+abortion&pg=PT105 Jon Mayled, Libby Ahluwalia, ''Philosophy and Ethics'' (Nelson Thornes 2003] {{ISBN|978-0-74877157-8}})</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=God of Justice: A Look at the Ten Commandments for the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X2h9dWyZRVQC&q=Jeremiah+1%3A5+abortion&pg=PA57|publisher=CSS publishing|author=David E. Leininger|year = 2007|isbn=978-0-78802462-7|page=57}}</ref> Others say that this interpretation is incorrect, and that the verse is not related to personhood or abortion, as Jeremiah is asserting his prophetic status as distinct and special.<ref>Rachels, James. The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003.</ref>

The Hebrew Bible has a few references to abortion; Exodus 21:22-25 addresses [[miscarriage]] by way of another's actions, which it describes as a non-capital offense punishable through a fine.<ref>{{bibleref2|Exodus|21:22-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Isser |first=Stanley |jstor=43718023 |title=Two Traditions: The Law of Exodus 21:22-23 Revisited |journal=Catholic Biblical Quarterly |volume=52 |issue=1 |date=January 1990 |pages=30–45}}</ref> The [[Book of Numbers]] in the Hebrew Bible describes the [[Ordeal of the bitter water]] (''sotah'') to be administered by a priest to a wife whose husband thinks she was unfaithful. Some scholars interpret the text as involving an [[abortifacient]] potion or otherwise that induces a miscarriage if the woman is pregnant with another man's child.<ref>{{cite book |last=Berquist |first=Jon L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSEigoqDI10C&pg=PA176 |pages=175–177 |title=Controlling Corporeality: The Body and the Household in Ancient Israel |publisher= Rutgers University Press |year=2002 |isbn=0813530164}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Levine |first=Baruch A. |title=Numbers 1-20: a new translation with introduction and commentary |volume=4 |number=part 1 |publisher=Doubleday |year=1993 |isbn=0385156510 |pages=201–204}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Snaith |first=Norman Henry |author-link=Norman Snaith |title= Leviticus and Numbers |year=1967 |page=202 |publisher=Nelson|isbn = 9780551005105}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Olson |first=Dennis T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rus0KUTNUg4C&pg=PA36 |page=36 |title=Numbers: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1996 |isbn=0664237363}}</ref> Rabbinical scholar [[Arnold Ehrlich]] interprets the ordeal such that it ends either harmlessly if the woman is faithful, or with an [[Abortion#Induced|induced abortion]]: "the embryo falls".<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vbY1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA46 |page=46 |journal=The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures |title=The Ordeal in Numbers Chapter 5 |last=Brewer |first=Julius A. |volume=30 |number=1 |date=October 1913}}</ref>