Q&A: Intrauterine Device — Forbidden Like Abortion?
Intrauterine Device — Forbidden Like Abortion?
Question
Hello Rabbi,
An intrauterine device prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. The fertilized egg reaches the uterus about a week after fertilization. Is there a prohibition here similar to abortion?
Thank you!
Answer
Absolutely not. Abortion is the killing of a fetus. Here we are talking about an egg. This is not an entirely neutral act, but it should not be compared to abortion.
Discussion on Answer
Obviously, but every stage makes a difference. Some also connect wasting seed to murder. It’s the heap paradox. First there’s the sperm, then fertilization, then implantation in the uterus, and then development throughout the pregnancy.
By the way, there are halakhic decisors who argue regarding surrogacy that the woman with the womb is the mother, not the woman who owns the egg. That amazed me. In their view, being in the womb is very significant. I don’t agree, but for our purposes it at least means that implantation in the uterus has significance that cannot simply be dismissed.
That’s why I wrote that this is not an entirely neutral act. Even so, it’s hard to see this as abortion.
He wasn’t talking about just any egg, but about a fertilized egg. How is that so different from a fetus?