In the this episode of Christian Mythbusters, Father Jared debunks the myth that there is one uniform and clear view on abortion in the Christian tradition. You can hear Christian Mythbusters in the Grand Haven area on 92.1, WGHN, on Wednesdays at 10:30am and Sundays at 8:50am.

Here is the transcription of this episode, the audio file is at the bottom.

This is Father Jared Cramer from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, Michigan, here with today’s edition of Christian Mythbusters, a regular segment I offer to counter some common misconceptions about the Christian faith. 

The confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a position on the Supreme Court are underway. Given that her confirmation would tilt the majority even stronger in favor of conservatives, 6-3, and that she would replacing the seat vacated by the great Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgh, tensions are high and political arguments intense.

A good portion of the hearings have surrounded the concern that a Justice Barrett would provide sufficient votes to overturn Roe v. Wade, returning the question of the legality of abortion to one that individual states would consider. On the right, this goal has been decades in the making and many are ecstatic that a possibility seems nigh. On the left, the loss of Roe v. Wade would undermine protections the Supreme Court enacted around the healthcare of women and their right to make the own decision when faced with the agonizing realities surrounding abortion.

All of which provides me with an opportunity to at least try today to break the myth around Christianity and abortion.

I’m always surprised how quickly Christians seem to be able to trot out a handful of verses as supposed proof of the so-called “Pro-Life” stance. Never mind that most of those verses simply speak to some form of reality before birth—never equating it in value with a living, breathing, human, but many of those verses come from what Christians often call the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible. And when I’m faced with a difficult question in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, I always find it helpful to turn to our Jewish siblings, who have been wrestling with these sacred Scriptures—in Hebrew nonetheless!—for a good thousand years longer than Christians have. 

In Exodus 21, if a woman is hurt in a fight and gives birth prematurely or she miscarries, there is a penalty upon the one who causes the miscarriage… but it is not the same penalty as murder. Rabbinic law has long allowed abortion when it would save the life of the mother. Rashi and others suggest that the moment when some form of human reality begins is not at conception but is not until the 40th day of pregnancy, when the fetus moves from water to a living being. But, even then, it is not yet the same thing as a human. 

The Talmud is one of the definitive sources for interpreting the Hebrew Bible, and it states that the act of birth is what changes a fetus from nonperson to person. This is partially based upon Genesis when the drawing in of breath by Adam is what made him human. However, other Talmudic sources and commentators insist that it is when any part of the fetus has left the birth canal. 

Both Conservative and Reform Judaism allow for abortion if the woman would suffer severe physical or psychological harm. Reform Judaism, in particular, insists that the difficulties involved in these questions mean that the decision should be made by the woman within whose body the fetus is growing, in conversation with her doctor and faith community. All of this is why more than three-quarters of Jews in America identify as pro-choice.