Tag Archives: abortion

by R. Gil Student In the past, we have seen that Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Ya’akov Kamenetsky and Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, in different contexts, have referred to abortion as “murder.” We have also seen the public policy concerns of Rav Immanuel Jakobovits and Rav Jonathan Sacks. I would like here to explore the written views of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, ...

by R. Gil Student With the U.S. Supreme Court reconsidering federal law on abortion, we return to discuss the issue from another Jewish perspective, this one a bit more liberal. In the past, we have seen leading halakhists of the late 20th century who called abortion “murder.” They include Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rav Moshe Feinstein and Rav Ya’akov Kamenetsky ...

by R. Gil Student Rabbi Dr. Immanuel Jakobovits was the founder of the modern subject of Jewish medical ethics. His groundbreaking 1959 book, Jewish Medical Ethics, set the stage for a flourishing academic field incorporating Jewish law, contemporary medicine and ethics. His views on abortion, particularly regarding public policy, carry great weight. While he served as Chief Rabbi of Great ...

A few months ago, political commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted that according to Judaism, abortion is murder. This led to criticism from one rabbi as overly simplistic and then defense by another, who showed that both Rav Moshe Feinstein and Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik called abortion murder. Below is a report from Rav Ya’akov Kamenetsky’s 1970 Shabbos Shuvah derashah, in which ...

by R. Gil Student Tosafos (Kesubos 31a) record a debate about the Torah’s case of an attack that leads to miscarriage (Ex. 21:22-25). If a man attacks another man and accidentally hits a pregnant woman, causing her to miscarry, his punishment depends on whether the woman survives. If she dies, then the attacker is executed for murder. If she survives, ...