Re: pidyon haben/abortion

[robert wiener <wiener...>]

Rachel,

I'm sure that you meant "ALWAYS ASK A QUALIFIED RABBI" without the
"ORTHODOX" qualification.   N'est ce pas?

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: Rachel Heckert <heckertkrs (at) juno(dot)com>
To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Sunday, February 06, 2000 12:20 PM
Subject: Re: pidyon haben/abortion


>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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