🏥 On Shabbat
Shabbat is a day of rest with strict rules. Yet a Jew must call an ambulance, travel to hospital or give urgent medical care on Shabbat if a life is at risk. Doing this is not a sin. It is a duty.
Jewish Beliefs about Life and Death » Sanctity of Life, Pikuach Nefesh and Abortion in Judaism
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 2.3 (Judaism)
- Why Jews believe human life is precious: a gift of the Almighty, made in his image
- What pikuach nefesh means and how it can override other commandments
- Jewish teaching on abortion, including the mother's life coming first
- How Orthodox and Progressive Jews differ on abortion
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Unlock This CourseLife is a gift: the Jewish view of human life
In The Sanctity of Life and Abortion you met the idea that life is sacred. Now we look at what Judaism teaches about it. Jews believe life belongs to the Almighty, who created every person. A human life is not something people own and can throw away. It is a gift to be looked after.
Jews also believe humans are special because they are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). You met this idea in Creation, Humanity and Tikkun Olam. It means every person has great value, whatever their age, health or background. Genesis 9:6 links the two ideas: taking a human life is a very serious wrong because humans are made in God's image.
Key terms:
- Pikuach nefesh: the Jewish principle that saving a human life comes before almost every other commandment. The words mean 'saving a life'.
- Mishnah: the first written collection of Jewish oral law, which forms part of the Talmud.
Pikuach nefesh: saving a life comes first
The Torah says Jews should keep the mitzvot and 'live by them' (Leviticus 18:5). The rabbis of the Talmud (the great collection of rabbis' discussions of Jewish law, which includes the Mishnah) taught that this means the mitzvot are meant to bring life, not death. So if keeping a commandment would put a life in danger, the person must break it to save the life. This is pikuach nefesh.
🍲 On Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is a fast day. A person who is seriously ill, and whose doctor says they must eat or drink, is required to do so. Keeping the fast would risk their life.
There are limits. The Talmud teaches that a Jew should accept death rather than commit three sins: murder, idolatry (worshipping false gods) and certain forbidden sexual acts. Apart from these, pikuach nefesh overrides almost every commandment.
One of the best-known teachings on the value of life is in the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5): whoever saves a single life is considered as if they saved a whole world. Jews understand this to mean that each person is unique and precious, so every life is worth saving, even when it is difficult.
Common mistakes
- Saying pikuach nefesh lets Jews ignore any commandment they like. It applies only when a life is in real danger, and not to murder, idolatry or the forbidden sexual acts.
- Saying Jews think breaking Shabbat to save a life is wrong. They think it is the right thing to do.
Abortion in Judaism
The nature of abortion and the law were covered in The Sanctity of Life and Abortion. Here we look at what Jewish teaching says.
Judaism does not treat an unborn child as exactly the same as a person who has been born. The usual starting point is Exodus 21:22-23. It describes men fighting who hurt a pregnant woman so that she loses the baby. If she is not otherwise harmed, the one who hurt her pays a fine. If she is seriously harmed or dies, the penalty is 'life for life'. Rabbis have taken this to mean the unborn child is precious, but is not treated as a full person in law, because the loss of the unborn child was punished with a fine and not as murder.
The Mishnah (Ohalot 7:6) adds a teaching on difficult births. If a woman's life is in danger because of the pregnancy, the unborn child may be removed to save her. The mother is a living person, so her life comes first. Once the baby's head or most of its body has emerged, one life may not be set aside for another.
From this teaching, Jews agree that:
- abortion is required if the mother's life is in danger (this is pikuach nefesh);
- an unborn child is precious, so abortion is never a casual choice.
Different attitudes among Jews
📖 Orthodox Jews
Orthodox rabbis permit abortion only for serious reasons, such as a risk to the mother's life or serious harm to her health. Each case is looked at one by one, and the couple should ask a rabbi. Abortion for convenience is not allowed.
⚖ Progressive Jews
Reform and Liberal Jews also see the unborn child as precious and do not treat abortion lightly. But they give more weight to the woman's own decision, made with care and advice, so a wider range of reasons may be accepted.
The differences exist because the groups read the Torah and rabbinic law differently. Orthodox Jews see the law as fixed and apply it case by case. Progressive Jews see it as something that can change, and put more trust in the woman's conscience.
Common mistakes
- Saying Judaism is simply 'pro-life' or simply 'pro-choice'. Jewish teaching sits in between, and different Jews hold different views.
- Saying all Jews think the same. Orthodox and Progressive Jews differ on how much weight the woman's decision has.
Exam-style question
Paper 1 style, Judaism.
(a) Identify three Jewish beliefs about human life. [3 marks] (AO1)
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two reasons why this religion teaches that human life is precious. [4 marks] (AO1)
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why there are different attitudes to abortion in this religion. [6 marks] (AO1, AO2)
(d) 'Abortion is never right.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks] (AO1, AO2)
Model answer
(a) 1. Life is a gift from the Almighty (1). 2. Humans are made in the image of God (1). 3. Saving a life comes before almost every other commandment, which is pikuach nefesh (1).
(b) Judaism teaches that human life is precious because humans are made in the image of God (1), so every person has great value (1). It also teaches that whoever saves a single life is as if they saved a whole world (1), which shows that each life is worth saving (1).
(c) Jews agree that the unborn child is precious but not a full person in law, because Exodus 21:22-23 punishes harming an unborn child with a fine and not as murder. They also agree abortion is needed to save the mother's life, as pikuach nefesh says life comes first. But they differ on other cases. Orthodox Jews see the law as fixed, so they permit abortion only for serious reasons and look at each case with a rabbi. Progressive Jews believe the law can change with the times and give more weight to the woman's own decision, so they accept a wider range of reasons. These differences exist because Jews disagree about how strictly the law should be applied and how far a person's conscience should decide.
(d) Plan. For the statement: life is a gift from the Almighty and humans are made in his image; the unborn child is precious; some people, religious or not, say life should be protected from conception. Against: Jewish law requires abortion if the mother's life is in danger (pikuach nefesh), so it can be right; the unborn child is not treated as a full person in Jewish law; Progressive Jews trust the woman's decision; humanists say a woman should have the choice and that quality of life matters. Conclusion: a possible view is that the statement is too strong, because even Orthodox Jews, who are the stricter group, say abortion is sometimes required, especially to save the mother's life.
Exam tip
In a 'Choose one religion' question, name the religion and use its own words, such as pikuach nefesh, Orthodox and Progressive. Do not give generic answers.