Re: pidyon haben/abortion

[Rachel Heckert <heckertkrs...>]

On Sun, 06 Feb 2000 08:39:53 +0200 Yehuda & Rebecca Poch
<butrfly (at) actcom(dot)co(dot)il> writes:  
> Aside from the fact that abortions are strcitly illegal according to 
Jewish  law, unless >the mother's life is in danger, this would also 
invalidate a  pidyon haben.

Abortion in Jewish law is a very difficult and technical issue.  There
are other circumstances where abortion is frequently permitted besides
"the mother's life is in danger,"  such as serious damage to the mother's
physical or mental health  (e.g. kidney disease or recurrent severe
post-partum depression.)   Blanket statements in regard to sensitive
issues in Jewish law are almost always at least partly misleading.  

The *important* point to remember is ALWAYS ASK A QUALIFIED ORTHODOX
RABBI.  *Never ever* assume something like this would be *either*
forbidden or permitted.  There is an old, old saying:  knowledge is
permissive, ignorance is strict.  But ONLY a rabbi who knows the
intricacies of the religious law and its application to special
circumstances can make the decision.

I can cite off-line for you several accepted Orthodox authors on Jewish
medical ethics who will make the situation clearer.  There are also
sources in Hebrew, but I am less familiar with them.

Rachel
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