[Avodah] JP: What is Life?

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

R' Alec Goldstein,

You wrote in your opinion piece in The Jewish Press
<http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/what-is-life/2015/11/06>:

> But, some will claim, perhaps Maimonides and Rabbi Feinstein are 
> wrong; perhaps Judaism views the fetus as something other than a human
> person.

The Igeros Moshe (CM 2:69.b) is in the minority on this position.

Now, after, I bothered writing the below, I see that Chana Luntz
translated the survey of sources from the Tzitz Eliezer vol 9 51:3. See
<http://lists.aishdas.org/htdig.cgi/avodah-aishdas.org/2013q3/072692.html>.

R' Unterman holds (Noam VI [1963], 1-11) that abortion is abazraihu
deretzicah, not actual retzichah. And perhapos in that family we could put
talmid reports that R SZ Aeurbach held it was a bitul asei of hatzalah,
or perhaps a violation of lo saamod -- or perhaps even theft (although
this third possibility isn't similar to the other not-quite-retzichah
but still killing-like answers). R' Aharon Lichtenstein -- vechai bahem.
RAL also discusses the Ran's shittah (Chullin 48a) that the issur is
derabbanan, a taqanah based on the ethics of retzichah.

The Chavos Ya'ir (siman 31, based on Nidda 13a) says it's
hashchasas zera. Related would be saying that abortion is a violation
of piryah verivyah (see Yevamos 63b), or destroying tzelem E-lokim
(Zohar, Shemos 3a, which is the portion in Choq, p' Shemos, Mon).

A third family of approaches is based on chavalah of the mother, see
Shemos 21:22. (Eg Tzafnas Pa'neiach 1:59)

R' Uzziel (Mishpetei Uziel vol 3 CM 46) suggests hashavas aveidah (!).

I personally do not understand the Tz"P or MU, since neither relate abortion
to the basic question of life, and yet it's included on the category
of retzichah for benei noach.

But in any case, you see how rare it is among acharonim to say that
abortion is actual retzichah, ie that a fetus is a human.

The Rambam himself is generally understood to hold that abortion is
NOT retzichah. This is why Rotzeiach 1:9 can distinguish between before
crowning and after as to whether we call the fetus or new-born whose
existence and birth threatens the mothers life a rotzeiach.

(CC: Avodah email list)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             We are what we repeatedly do.
micha at aishdas.org        Thus excellence is not an event,
http://www.aishdas.org   but a habit.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                   - Aristotle