I believe the overturning of Roe v. Wade is unconstitutional. While being ethnically and culturally Jewish is far from the only reason I think so, the rules within faiths outside of Christianity are one of the pro-choice arguments that points out the hypocrisy of anti-choice rhetoric.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution bars the nation from legally putting one religion, like certain pockets of Christianity, above another. And though Judaism is one of the most popular faiths in the world, anything other than the practice of bar and bat mitzvahs is relatively unknown to most people in the U.S. — including the faith’s relationship with abortion.
To better understand how a religion outside of Christianity approaches a person’s right to choose, it’s important to look at the religious texts that guide the faith. So here’s a brief rundown of the two pieces of Jewish text I will be referring to throughout this piece.
The Torah (written around 600 B.C.): The Torah comes from Moses and is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Giving instructions on how to be human and humane, often through stories.
The Talmud (compiled around A.D. 350): The Talmud is the record of rabbinical teachings, written by the people. It explains a lot of what the Torah means and therefore is often less convoluted. The first part or book of the Talmud is called the Mishnah, which is where the majority of Jewish law surrounding abortion stems from.
It’s important to note both are Jewish faith and Jewish law, and being prevented from practicing the guidances of these texts is an affront to religious freedom.
Both texts actually detail a list of occasions that require those who are pregnant to get abortions. It’s mandated in cases where having a child will be a threat to the mother’s health. This is her physical health, her mental health and her financial health. However, there are interpretations of the Torah and Mishnah that disagree with the latter two.
Jewish law also allows for, and some interpretations even require, abortion in the cases of rape, incest or if a resulting baby would have “severe abnormalities.” In part because of awareness around disabilities and medical advancements, Orthodox Jews nowadays are calling for Jewish people to interpret all five possible reasons for getting an abortion through a case-by-case basis.
Much like followers of the Bible don’t all exempt themselves from the multimaterial clothing items and tattoos banned in the Bible, followers of Jewish religious texts don’t always adhere to direct interpretations either.
There are some more Orthodox interpretations that outlaw the removal of a fetus. But those interpretations treat the removal as property damage — not as murder like we often hear in modern anti-abortion narratives. In Jewish law, a person is not a person until they are born. Fetuses are part of the mother as long as they rely on being inside the womb.
Although the anti-abortion movement is propelled by multiple sects of Christianity, it’s not even all Christians who insist no one should be allowed to get an abortion. It’s a group of heretics speaking for Catholics and Protestants (Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Anglicans). And now they want to speak for everybody.
There are Christians who believe that since your body was made by God in his image and therefore holy, it is not something the government gets a say in. And there are Christians who follow portions of the Bible where abortion is permitted. There are Christians who believe people shouldn’t trample on each other’s lives or faiths.
There are also religions I haven’t even touched on, such as Buddhism, that contain their own teachings and beliefs around abortion. Often these are nuanced, and like in both Judaism and Christianity, contain some disagreement, but no aspect of anyone’s religion (so long as it’s not hurting people) should be outlawed.
