Q&A: Abortion
Abortion
Question
With God's help,
Hello and blessings,
After an ultrasound, a cyst was seen in the fetus's heart, and after an anatomy scan a cyst was seen in the brain (but not in the heart). A professor who is head of the maternity department at the hospital recommends an abortion. Is it permitted? Does one need to do it?
Answer
From a halakhic standpoint, it depends on the age of the fetus. From a moral standpoint, in my opinion this is a very problematic act. If the fetus itself will suffer greatly once it is born, then perhaps there is room to be lenient. But if the consideration is for the parents, it seems to me that there is no justification for that.
Discussion on Answer
Are we talking about Professor G. M.?
One has to understand that although doctors' knowledge is limited and they are not always right, there are still majority rules even in matters of life and death. So one should not draw necessary conclusions from this story לגבי all cases. See Column 38.
More power to you.
In hindsight, I regretted the way I chose to bring this up. But since it has already been done, I will continue with a response.
This is a real question that came to me several years ago. I was a young kollel student, sitting with my wife in front of the professor, and he was already getting out his appointment book to schedule an abortion. Boldly, I stopped him and said that I needed to ask the rabbi. He of course looked at me with a look that said, "What exactly does a rabbi have to do with this?"
I went to Bnei Brak to Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein, may he live long, and he almost cried together with me over the situation. Afterward, he told me he would connect me with the rabbi of Maayanei Hayeshua.
I spoke with the rabbi, who connected me with the head of the maternity department at the hospital there, who asked me to send him all the paperwork.
A short time later he called me and said that in his opinion there was no problem here at all and that I could be calm.
I went back to the first professor and told him that we were not having an abortion. He looked at me with his piercing stare and asked whether I understood what I was doing. I said yes, and we moved on… (Of course I couldn't tell him that I had received a second opinion that disagreed with him.)
I cannot describe the tension we lived with during those months until the birth. The thought that who knows… maybe after all…
And then the birth came, and…
Thank God, a healthy, whole, beautiful baby was born, who grew into a charming, wise, intelligent child, and today is already an outstanding young man.
After the birth we came again to meet with the professor, who asked how the baby was doing. I told him that, thank God, everything was fine. Innocently, I thought there might be some sort of apology. But the professor just replied, "Good, okay," and that was it!!
I couldn't hold back. I dared and asked him: So what were those cysts?
And what did he answer me? — "Look, it comes and goes. We don't know exactly what it is." (Word for word, and it's a shame I didn't record it.)
Unbelievable. Who knows how many fetuses were aborted this way?
And this is not the only case in which I have encountered "the best of doctors go to Gehenna."
So what am I actually trying to say?
I wouldn't say that the healthcare system is rotten in every possible way. Clearly there are doctors here who do holy work, and thank God they have successes, and they also respect the view of Jewish law.
But from our side, it is clear that sometimes the view of Jewish law is what will determine things.
And in addition, regarding coronavirus: I definitely do not see a reason to accept every instruction of the healthcare system or the coronavirus committee as if it were Torah from Sinai.
Obviously, there is no point in deliberately doing the opposite.
But if we take, for example, what happened today in the town in the south, where young secular people (yes, Goralin) celebrated at a coronavirus party, and because of that the head of the local council or municipality decided to close the synagogues — what connection is there between these things???
These things are so simple, and those up above themselves do not know what to do, and we have no one to rely on except our Father in Heaven.
And while relying on our Father, we should make our efforts in such a way that they will not adversely affect the course of our spiritual and physical lives.
Isn't that so?