Hi all!
I'm an orthodox Jew & have been a member of Christian Forums for a few years now (I mainly post on CF's "Non-Christian Religion", "General Apologetics" and "Philosophy & Morality" pages). A member here at JCF posted a link to JCF on a discussion, that I've posted on, on CF's "Non-Christian Religion" page. I clicked on the link, looked around & found my way here.
Biochemrex, you posted:
The Jews believe that a human person does not exist until a baby is borne.
Umm, this is not exactly true.
I quote from a book I have on the (orthodox!) Jewish approach to various medical issues by Rabbi Dr. J. David Bleich (a senior rabbi/doctor at Yeshiva University in New York):
"Judaism regards the killing of an unborn child to be a serious moral offense. An abortion may be performed only for the gravest of reasons, and even then, only subsequent to consultation with a competent [orthodox] rabbinic authority...The life of the mother takes precedence over that of the unborn child. Thus, when 'hard travail' of labor endangers the life of the mother, an embryotomy may be performed in order to save her...The fetus' right to life is subordinate to that of the mother, and hence the life of the unborn fetus may be sacrificed in order to save her...The performance of an abortion may be warranted for purposes of preserving maternal health as well as maternal life. No [orthodox rabbinic] authority permits an abortion which is non-therapeutic in nature. There are early rabbinic authorities who expressly declare that ritual laws such as Sabbath observance and fasting on Yom Kippur are suspended in order to preserve the life of the fetus. Suspension of such significant religious observances is clearly incompatible with indiscriminate license to destroy fetal life. Both the argument that a prospective mother may seek an abortion for any reason because denial of this right would interfere with her 'right to privacy' as well as the argument that the decision to abort is entirely a matter between a woman and her physician must be rejected as incompatible with Jewish teaching...Judaism teaches that man does not enjoy unrestricted proprietary rights with regard to his own body, much less so with regard to the body of an unborn child...The Talmud teaches that embryo is endowed with a soul at conception. Moreover, the Sages taught: 'There are 3 partners in the generation of man - the father, the mother and God.' Accordingly, a decision to terminate pregnancy is not one which is within the exclusive domain of the mother...It is well established that the quality of life to be anticipated if the fetus is carried to term is not, in itself, a sufficient reason for the performance of an abortion...Physical or mental abnormalities do not affect the human status of the individual or his right to life...Most authorities rule that termination of pregnancy resulting from rape is not permissible. However, the immediate post-coital contraceptive measures undertaken prior to fertilization of the ovum present a different but complex Jewish-law question. Immediate removal of the semen by means of a suction device...would be warranted."
Thus, normative (i.e. orthodox) Judaism absolutely rejects abortion as a means of birth control. I certainly object to government funding for abortions that are non-therapeutic in nature.
Jewish law says that once the mother has begun to give birth, her life no longer takes precedence over the fetus & thus killing the fetus, even if ostensibly to save the mother, would, at this stage, be cold-blooded murder & thus absolutely forbidden. I can't imagine that any orthodox rabbi would ever sanction an abortion if the mother has begun to give birth or if the doctors said that the fetus is viable, regardless of the mother's wishes.
We completely reject vigilante violence against doctors, nurses, etc. who are involved in abortions (as well as inciting to violence against them) & to bombing clinics. Opposition to non-therapeutic abortions must be carried out within the bounds of the law.
This
http://www.aish.com/societyWork/sciencenature/Abortion_in_Jewish_Law.asp is a pretty good article which summarizes the orthodox Jewish view.
What the "Reform" and "Conservative" "movements" hold is of no account. Historic, traditional, normative Judaism
is orthodox Judaism (with orthodoxy being a far broader spectrum than most non-Jews and non-orthodox Jews realize).
Biochemrex, you also posted:
...Judaism, where there is no belief in reincarnation...
This is not exactly true either but since this is not a reincarnation forum, I'll leave it at that.
Questions?
Be well!
ssv