Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren explained the halachic view an abortion and birth control in a television interview yesterday. He said that abortion was permissible only in cases where the mother’s health might be endangered or where it can be established with certainty that the child would be born with an incurable illness.
He said halacha opposed family planning because Jews were “commended” to “be fruitful and multiply” and because the Jewish population must be increased. However, he said, birth control methods were permitted “for a reasonable period” in cases where a couple already has a number of children.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
