Shalom and blessings, we continue with the study of the laws of murder and bloodshed, from the fifth chapter of the book Brit Shalom, starting from paragraph 6 and onwards.
It is clear that everyone understands that one is not allowed to take the life of another. The question is, when is a person considered alive? What about a fetus—does the fetus count as a living being, and therefore it would be forbidden to abort it, or is it not considered alive? What about a person who is dying? Does he need what is today called euthanasia? In other words, when does human life begin and when does it end? Here, the halacha is stringent. As stated in section 6: "The prohibition of murder includes abortion and euthanasia." Despite the fact that in modern times abortion is considered a legitimate act, with the woman and her husband having control over her body, and sometimes even what is considered in some countries as a way to help a person end their suffering and receive euthanasia to shorten their life, halacha is very strict and says that human life is not in a person's control.
However, the truth is that there are some exceptions here. Sometimes abortion is permitted. There are situations in which abortion is allowed, especially within the first 40 days of pregnancy. That is, the fertilized egg is developing and it is not always considered a living human at this stage. Also, if there is a risk to the mother’s life, for example, if the child is born, the mother might die. Therefore, to prevent the death of the mother, there are situations where abortion is permitted. So how is this determined? These matters are complicated, which is why there is a general guideline, and it is important to consult a rabbi who is familiar with these issues because they are not entirely simple. There are many psychological and medical components, so one must ask a rabbi well-versed in these laws. Thank God, today we have rabbis who understand the halachot of abortion as well.
We also move on to another important law: What about euthanasia? One should not actively stop the life of a person suffering from illness, but there is no need to fight to prolong life. Sometimes there is exaggeration, doing everything to make the person continue to live. It is not always necessary to actively extend a person's life. Administering medication to alleviate suffering is allowed, such as Valium, as long as it does not directly cause death. Once death has been determined, it is permissible to disconnect life-support devices.
