On July 10, Ben Shapiro, Editor in Chief of the Daily Wire, ignited a firestorm by tweeting that “virtually every major Jewish halakhist of the modern era has barred abortion except when the life of the mother is threatened.” Self-ordained Twitter-rabbis rushed forward to contradict Shapiro’s assertion. These self-proclaimed experts cited or mis-cited relatively obscure and minority opinions to try and distract from the fact that Shapiro was essentially correct. Traditional Judaism is and always has been pro-life, and it condemns most abortions performed in the US as immoral.
Of course, nearly every religious matter is subject to debate, especially regarding a contentious issue like abortion. However, not every opinion is given equal weight. Shapiro’s statement accurately describes the most authoritative and widely accepted Jewish sources.
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