137 Abortion 138 eral rather than particular actions (such as the fair. In Hölderlin’s earlier Die Bücher der Zeiten,we abominations of Leviticus). Many cases involve the find: “Oh the abominations [die Greuel] of the earth biblical phrase, “abomination of desolation”. All creature! … Why does the angel of death not exter- five instances of “abomination” in the poetry of minate all the abominations [die Greuel] from the William Blake occur in this phrase, which comes earth with his flaming sword?” The French term from the New Testament references to the temple “abomination” becomes fully aesthetic in Baude- desecration mentioned in Dan 11 : 31, 12 : 11 (Mark laire’s prose poem Le Chambre Double (1864), al- 13 : 14 and Matt 24 : 15). His Milton meditates on though its biblical connotation is clear from the use the Church’s misunderstanding of Swedenborg: of “blaspheme”: “On the walls no artistic abomina- “Babylon the Great, the Abomination of Desola- tion [nulle abomination artistique]. Relative to the tion! O Swedenborg! strongest of men, the Samson pure dream … positive art is a blasphemy [un blas- shorn by the Churches!” phe`me].” While the priestly category of abomination has Finally, “abomination” begins to reflect current little relevance for Christianity, the term “abomina- debates on sexual morality in the emerging genre tion” persisted as a description of any morally de- of Christian fiction. Colleen Coble’s Abomination spicable action. In Coleridge’s Death of Wallenstein, (2007), a thriller about killings done to punish bib- it referred simply to killing a military commander: lical sins, merges this moralistic understanding of But we are soldiers, abomination with the violence of popular horror And to assassinate our chief commander, fiction. That is a sin, a foul abomination, Brian Britt From which no monk or confessor absolves us. Abomination has satirical value in the following 1691 lampoon on religious hypocrisy by Edward Abomination of Desolation Ward: /Abomination As for Religions, there are many Profest, but few that practice any; They’d deny God to gain a Penny. Aborigines … /Oceania Yea and Nay’s their Communication, Swearing they hold’s Abomination, But Whoring, as a small Transgre[…]sion. Abortion Abomination can even convey a facetious meaning, I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/Old as in the following 1689 ballad mocking Quakers Testament (The Quakers Art of Courtship): II. Judaism III. New Testament That for a Friend to put off Hat IV. Christianity Is great Abomination, V. Islam That Ribbons are of Pagan date, And Lace a carnal Fashion. I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/ Here we can see how literary tradition inherits and Old Testament reshapes biblical tradition. Eventually “abomina- Abortion is recorded in ancient Near Eastern his- tion” shifts from the highly sectarian moralism of tory, though not without conflict as to its value and the early modern period to an Orientalist term for legality. Levantine societies highly favored procrea- ancient kinds of perfidy, as in Kipling’s The Out- tion due to the need for sustainable production, to laws: pass on the land through inheritance, and to make Coldly they went about to raise one’s mark on the world. Thus, the literature often To life and make more dread reveals a pro-reproductive ideology. Abominations of old days, Procreation is a divine blessing in the Bible. That men believed were dead. Hence, God commands that humans “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1 : 28), the Abrahamic covenant But one could say that the Orientalism of Kipling rests upon childbearing (Gen 12; 15; 17), and God’s was already latent in Milton’s Paradise Lost: reward for obedience includes children (e.g., Exod Within his Sanctuary itself their Shrines, 23 : 26; Deut 7 : 14; Ps 127 : 3–4). The women of the Abominations; and with cursed things Bible are intensely desirous of children and barren- His holy Rites, and solemn Feasts profan’d, ness is regarded as a tragedy (e.g., Gen 16 : 1–4; And with their darkness durst affront his light. 30 : 1; 1 Sam 1–2). Conversely, births are a cause for The German term “Greuel” is similar, as in Rilke’s rejoicing (Jer 20 : 15b; SAA 10 226 : 16–21; CT 22 Jahrmarkt, which mixes religious imagery (“all the 40 : 6–7). Contraception by coitus interruptus is ap- abominations of those days”) with scenes from a parently unacceptable, at least in the case of levirate

- 10.1515/EBR.abortion Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 04/30/2020 02:21:56AM Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception 1 (© Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Newvia University York 2009) of Washington Libraries 139 Abortion 140 marriage (Gen 38 : 8–10). Miscarriage is understood enter your bowels and make your womb discharge, as a divine curse (e.g., Hos 9 : 14). Miscarriage that your uterus miscarry!” (author’s translation; Num results from the violence of another is an actionable 5 : 21b–22a; cf. Ps 58 : 9 [ET 58 : 8]; Isa 26 : 18–19; crime (Exod 21 : 22–25; Hittite Laws §17–18; Laws of Brenner: 69–70; Stol: 32). If, on the other hand, she Hammurapi §§209, 211–14; Laws of Lipit–Ishtar is innocent of the charge, she would be immedi- §§d–f; Middle Assyrian Laws A §§21, 50–52r). There ately fertile. The passage is easily read to mean that are many documents regarding the use of medici- the potion is a divine abortive agent that will cause nes to combat infertility (e.g., Gen 31 : 14; Köcher: any illegitimate conceptus to deliver. vol. 3, 241) and fetal loss (e.g., Köcher: vol. 3, 240). Self-induced abortion was a criminal matter in Nonetheless, individuals and couples did en- the ancient Near East. This is best illustrated by gage in the ancient equivalent of “family plan- Middle Assyrian Laws A §53, which states: ning.” According to one scholar, Sarah might have If a woman has caused an abortion on her own (initia- sought to delay childbearing (Teubal: 235–50). tive) (and) they have established the truth about her, Couples apparently used various reproductive tech- they shall impale her on stakes, they shall not bury her. nologies in the ancient Near East, including: barri- If she has died in aborting, they shall impale her on stakes, they shall not bury her. (translation by Stol: 14) ers, chemical agents taken either via mouth or vagi- nal suppository, post-coital wiping or douching, The failure to bury the woman was evidence that and breastfeeding (Brenner: 71–73, 87–89; Riddle: the fetus was the property of her husband and, 66–73, 163–66). hence, the abortion both a crime against him and Abortion procedures were known in ancient the community at large. The display of her corpse Egypt and Mesopotamia (Saporetti). Egyptian texts was also important as a means of societal deter- from Deir-el-Medina record abortion as early as the rence. Further, the means of death, impaling, also end of the 2nd millennium BCE (Manniche: 17). carries phallocentric symbolism. Since the woman The means to induce an abortion included stimu- did not sustain the result of her husband’s sexual lating premature labor through physical or chemi- “impaling” and her method of abortion may have cal means (Brenner: 71–72). Physical means might been impaling her womb on a stake, her body is have comprised of blows to the abdomen or insert- impaled in execution. This punishment mirrors the ing a sharply pointed object into the womb. Vari- crime and embodies a horrific patriarchal message. A third-party’s act of concealing a self-induced ous abortive agents have been suggested, including abortion was also punishable. among many others: beans, cabbage, celery, onions, In sum, a fetus was considered the property of dates, honey, pomegranate, cinnamon, coriander, its father, who had legal rights against anyone who dill, mints, myrrh, parsley, pepper, saffron, soda, intentionally or unintentionally aborted it. A hus- parts of the juniper, pine, fir, willow, and palm, band could, however, institute an abortion of the some ferns, beer, wine, oil, gum, rue, copper, and fetus of another man gestating in his wife’s womb even crocodile dung (Manniche: 17; Riddle: 87–88; because the presence of that fetus violated his abso- Tyldesley; Stol: 41–42). Modern science confirms lute right to use her womb. that several of these substances are, indeed, aborti- facients: copper, palm, pomegranate, saffron, and Bibliography: ■ A. Brenner, The Intercourse of Knowledge (Lei- willow (Pangas: 216; Riddle: 87–88; Stol: 41–42). den 1997). ■ F. Köcher, Die babylonisch-assyrische Medizin in ■ The traditional scholarly position has been that Texten und Untersuchungen, 6 vols. (Berlin 1963–1980). L. Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt (London 1987). ■ J. C. the Bible does not record abortion, but this view Pangas, “Notas sobre el aborto en la antigua Mesopotamia,” must now be called into question. Certainly, the AuOr 8 (1990) 213–18. ■ J. M. Riddle, Contraception and biblical text provides evidence for women’s knowl- Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance (Cambridge, edge about midwifery (e.g., Gen 35 : 16–17; Exod Mass. 1992). ■ C. Saporetti, Abolire le nascite (Rome 1993). 1 : 15–22) and substances that encouraged concep- ■ M. Stol, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible (Groningen 2000). tion (e.g., Gen 30 : 14–15). Thus, it is plausible that ■ S. J. Teubal, “Sarah and Hagar,” in A Feminist Companion ■ ancient Israelite women had equal knowledge of to Genesis (ed. A. Brenner; Sheffield 1993) 235–50. J. Tyldesley, Daughters of Isis (London 1994). the methods of contraception and abortion. Fur- F. Rachel Magdalene thermore, the ordeal for the stray wife in Num 5 : 11–30 may describe the administration of an II. Judaism abortive agent. There, a husband, who suspects his ■ Ancient and Medieval Judaism ■ Modern Judaism wife of adultery but has no concrete evidence, may bring his wife to a priest for trial. She has to ingest A. Ancient and Medieval Judaism a bitter potion of holy water and dirt from the tab- Jewish tradition, which is highly respectful of the ernacle and take an oath. If the woman is guilty, sanctity of life and of potential life, has generally the priest tell her, “the Lord make you an execra- prohibited abortion. However, when a pregnant tion and an oath among your people, when the woman’s life was endangered, rabbinic and medie- Lord makes your uterus miscarry, your womb dis- val authorities permitted abortion on the basis of charge; now may this water that brings the curse Exod 21 : 22–25. This text was understood to make

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Eliezer Waldenberg (1915–2006), an from the 41st day until its birth, the fetus is re- halakhic authority in Jerusalem with special ex- garded as an appendage of its mother (bHul 58a). pertise in biomedical issues, who allowed a first tri- Since the fetus is not an autonomous being (nefesh mester abortion of a fetus with a deformity that adam [Lev 24 : 17]), abortion is not regarded as mur- would cause it to suffer, and permitted abortion to der. The Mishnah states this principle clearly: the end of the second trimester of a fetus with a lethal defect such as Tay-Sachs disease (Walden- If a woman’s labor becomes life threatening, the one to berg: 9 : 51). be born is dismembered in her abdomen and then taken out limb by limb, for her life comes before [the The Conservative movement’s position is more life of the fetus]. Once most of the child has emerged lenient: it is not to be touched, for one [life] is not be put aside An abortion is justifiable if a continuation of pregnancy for another. (mOhal 7:6) might cause the mother severe physical or psychologi- cal harm, or when the fetus is judged by competent The French medieval Talmud commentator Rashi medical authorities to be severely defective. (Rabbinical (R. Solomon ben Isaac, 1040–1105) refined this Assembly, 37) teaching: Conservative authorities, as well as some Orthodox As long as it did not come out into the world, it is not rabbis, would also permit abortion when preg- called a living thing and it is permissible to take its life nancy resulted from rape or from illicit sexual rela- in order to save its mother. Once the head has come tions such as adultery or incest. forth, it may not be harmed because it is considered Reform Judaism allows the option of abortion born. in all of the instances mentioned above, as well as Moses Maimonides, writing in 12th-century Egypt, for additional reasons in individual cases, such as concurred, adding that when the mother’s life was “social, economic and psychological factors that at risk the fetus should be regarded as a pursuer might warrant therapeutic termination of preg- (rodef) attempting to kill her and dealt with accord- nancy.” In a 1975 statement, Reform Judaism ex- ingly (MishT Rotseah 1 : 9). Those who performed pressed confidence in the right and ability of a abortions when the mother’s life was threatened woman to exercise her ethical and religious judg- were absolved from any liability for criminal or ment in making her own decision. civil damages (tGit 4 : 7). In Israel, the 1977 penal code permits legal The majority of legal authorities have permit- abortions. Abortion requests must be approved by ted abortion when it was judged essential for a a termination committee. Acceptable grounds in- woman’s physical or mental health, even when her clude: if the pregnant woman is under 17, the legal precarious state was not a direct result of her preg- age for marriage; physical, emotional, or psycho- nancy; debate has raged over permissible condi- logical damage to the mother; a pregnancy result- tions and situations. R. Jacob Emden (1697–1776), ing from irregular circumstances (rape, incest, among others, permitted abortion “as long as the pregnancy outside of marriage); or the probability fetus has not emerged from the womb, even if not that the fetus is severely disabled or otherwise un- likely to live a normal life. Almost all requests are to save the mother’s life, but only to save her from approved. Liberal political parties in Israel favor le- the harassment and great pain which the fetus galized abortions on the basis of a woman’s right causes her” (Sheilat Yabets 1 : 43). Emden also ruled to choose; Orthodox political parties, and other tra- that abortion was permissible when a pregnancy re- ditionally and right-wing oriented groups, argue sulted from adultery or another prohibited sexual that except for rare cases, abortion should not be union (ibid.). permitted in a Jewish state. ■ Bibliography: R. Biale, Women and Jewish Law (New York Bibliography: ■ A. L. Mackler, Life and Death Responsibilities ■ 1984). D. Feldman, Marital Relations, Birth Control, and in Jewish Biomedical Ethics (New York 2000). ■ Rabbinical Abortion in Jewish Law (New York 1974). ■ D. Schiff, Abortion Assembly, Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and in Judaism (Cambridge 2002). Standards (New York 1988). ■ D. Schiff, Abortion in Judaism (Cambridge 2002). ■ E. Waldenberg, Questions and An- B. Modern Judaism swers from the Tsits Eliezer, vol. 9 (Jerusalem 1967). [Heb. There is no unanimous attitude towards abortion She’elot u-Teshuvot Tsits Eliezer] in modern Judaism and contemporary Jews hold Judith R. Baskin diverse opinions. However, various movements have formulated denominational positions. All III. New Testament streams of Orthodox Judaism endorse the position Abortion is not an issue in the writings of the NT. (based on Exod 21 : 22–25) that abortion is permit- The word ,κτρωμα (“miscarriage,” “abortion,” ted when there is a high probability that the “stillborn child”), i.e., a child that is born dead due

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The rhetorical effect was to teach that tradition, as it is reflected in the LXX. There it is the unborn are created in God’s image, that their used to describe people who are in a most deplora- induced death is culpable homicide, and that Chris- ble situation and whose lives are miserable and tians should never seek an abortion. worthless (cf. esp. Num 12 : 12; Job 3 : 16; Eccl 6 : 3; The popularity of these documents, which had cf. Philo, Leg. 1, 76). In 1 Cor, Paul introduces the authoritative status in certain early communities, term to characterize himself as somebody who is helped to solidify and spread the Christian position most miserable, since he was a former persecutor despite the absence of a prohibition in the Old or of the Church. He felt himself wholly insufficient the final form of the New Testament. The interpre- to be a minister of God and unworthy of preaching tation of Scripture and Jewish tradition reflected in the Gospel. As such he compared himself with a these quasi-Scriptural documents guaranteed “miscarriage,” since he realized that he did not de- Christianity’s continuation of Judaism’s position; serve his apostolate and that it had its origin exclu- in that sense the early view of both traditions was sively in an act of God’s grace. biblical. Later Christian writings developed this basic Bibliography: ■ H. W. Hollander/G. E. van der Hout, “The view. Athenagoras dismissed the accusation of can- Apostle Paul Calling Himself an Abortion: 1 Cor. 15 : 8 within the Context of 1 Cor. 15 : 8–10,” NovT 38 (1996) nibalism by referring to the prohibition of abor- 224–36. tion. Alluding to Scriptural creation texts, he Harm W. Hollander claimed that an unborn child is a “living being” and “an object of God’s concern” (Leg. 35). Ter- IV. Christianity tullian developed an argument (An. 25–26) for the embryo/fetus as a living being with a soul by draw- ■ Patristics and Early Medieval Times ■ Reformation Era through Modern Times ing on biblical narratives of human experience in utero: Jacob and Esau struggling (Gen 25 : 21–26) A. Patristics and Early Medieval Times and John the Baptist leaping (Luke 1 : 41–44, used Although abortion is not discussed in the Old Tes- similarly by Clement of Alexandria). Earlier he had tament, early Christian writers, echoing Jewish voi- implicitly acknowledged certain differences be- ces, universally opposed it as a transgression of fun- tween human life before and after birth but still damental scriptural precepts. interpreted abortion as homicide because of onto- Jewish sentiments arose when Diaspora Jews logical continuity: Homo est et qui est futurus (Apol. encountered abortion among non-Jews. The Jewish 9.11; cf. An. 36–37), a view echoed by Minucius Fe- view had biblical roots in the prohibition of mur- lix (Oct. 30). der, the command to be fruitful, and the poetry An intellectual challenge to the consensus arose that honored those in utero as objects of divine care when Christians faced the questions of human en- (Ps 139 : 16; Jer 1 : 5). soulment and formation and the corollary question The earliest Christian prohibitions appear in of the ontological status of the unborn at various the late 1st or early 2nd century CE in Did. 2.2 and stages. Aristotle, now read by Christians, had as- then Barn. 19.5, both reflecting Jewish themes and serted that male embryos were ensouled at 40 days presented as an absolute divine command: “you (females at 90). The Septuagint (mis-) translation of will not murder a child by abortion.” the Hebrew text of Exod 21 : 22–25, which may The form and context of these texts introduce have been influenced by the Aristotelian view, dis- three biblical themes that impacted the early tinguishes the formed from the unformed, making church. First, they reflect a conviction that abortion the issue of embryonic development unavoidable. is homicide and therefore merits, with infanticide, One response was to allow the Aristotelian per- an expansion of the Decalogue. Second, the texts spective and the Greek text of Exod 21 to re-shape are offered as part of the injunction to neighbor- the church’s view especially of early abortion. This love, inferring that abortion is a violation of this response was considered by Jerome (Epist. 121) and biblical mandate, too, and that both the unborn Augustine (e.g., Quaestiones de Exodo 9.80), though and pregnant women are neighbors to be loved. both writers also echoed traditional anti-abortion Third, the texts also construe abortion as a failure sentiments and texts, affirming God as the creator to choose the way of blessings, life, and light rather of all unborn life but registering uncertainty about than that of curses, death, and darkness (Deut the moment of ensoulment and thus the moral sta-

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Bibliography: ■ M. J. Gorman, Abortion and the Early Church (1637–1680) overturned the reproductive biology (Downers Grove, Ill. 1982 [repr. Eugene, Oreg. 1998]). ■ P. of Aristotle. They hypothesized that human beings Gray, “Abortion, Infanticide, and the Social Rhetoric of the begin when an egg, produced by the ovaries, is fer- Apocalypse of Peter,” JECS 9 (2001) 313–37. ■ D. A. Jones, The tilized by semen. With the advent of the micro- Soul of the Embryo (London 2004). ■ J. T. Noonan, Jr., Con- scope, this theory has been confirmed by observa- traception (Cambridge, Mass. 1986). tion. It was ancient Greek biology that influenced Michael J. Gorman the Septuagint translation of Exod 21 : 22–25; with B. Reformation Era through Modern Times the progress of scientific understanding, this trans- A shift occurred in Western Christian reflection on lation has lost its rationale. abortion in the early modern period. This resulted The early modern period saw Exod 21 : 22–25 from two key factors: the first is the Reformation; dislodged as the lens through which the ethics of the second is the decline of the influence of Aris- abortion was understood. Subsequently, discussion totle within the natural sciences. of abortion in both Reformed and Catholic commu- A key theme of the Reformation was the impor- nities in the early modern period was based not so tance of a return to the original text of Scripture. much on scriptural exegesis as on natural reason. This undermined the received medieval interpreta- Insofar as any biblical text was invoked it was the tion of Exod 21 : 22–25, which was based on the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exod Septuagint. It reads, “if two men are fighting and 20 : 13 KJV). strike a pregnant woman, and her infant departs From the Middle Ages to the early 19th cen- not fully formed (+1εικνισμ%νν), he shall be tury, abortion was an offense in the English com- fined.” In contrast, the Hebrew reads, “if two men mon law after “quickening,” when the child is first are fighting and strike a pregnant woman, and her felt to move. This was a relic of medieval categories infants depart and yet no serious harm follows (a¯ - of thought. The 19th century saw a tightening of sôn), he shall be fined.” The Hebrew text does not the law on abortion, both in the United States and justify the medieval distinction in moral status be- in Europe, so that it applied equally at all stages of

- 10.1515/EBR.abortion Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 04/30/2020 02:21:56AM Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception 1 (© Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Newvia University York 2009) of Washington Libraries 147 Abot 148 pregnancy. The driving force of this change was the tuted a creative process: sperm, clot, flesh, bones, medical profession, which argued that the previous flesh-covered bones, and finally “another creation” law was based on an outdated embryology. It is (cf. S 96 : 2; 22 : 5; 39 : 6). Qura¯ nic precepts also dis- striking that neither the Catholic Church nor the courage infanticide based on S 6 : 140: “Those who Reformed Churches were significantly involved in kill their children foolishly without knowledge are this reform movement. real losers; and they forbid what God has provided The late 20th century saw most Western na- for them” (cf. S 17 : 31; 60 : 12). Most Ma¯ likı¯ jurists tions enact permissive abortion laws. A number of use these verses to forbid abortion completely. Christians and Jews have been active in promoting However, other Muslim legal rites are in dispute such laws. Sometimes they have appealed to Exod about whether or not abortion contravenes God’s 21 : 22–25 in favor of permitting abortion, even for intent to create life if it is performed during the social reasons. More frequently, they have asserted first 40–120 days of the pregnancy, since a promi- that there is no prohibition of abortion in the nent tradition (høadı¯ th) affirms that God sends an Scriptures, or said that, “in the final analysis, the angel to infuse the creation with a spirit at 120 days Bible is silent on abortion.” Such assertions should (i.e., “another creation”). All rites forbid abortion be seen, in part, as a consequence of the relative after 120 days, based on Scripture and tradition (cf. dearth of scriptural reflection on abortion up to re- S 2 : 228; 65 : 4), although they make exceptions for cent times. cases in which the mother’s life is in danger or for In response, from the late 1960s, those Chris- abnormalities. A family’s poor economic status is tians who resist the prevailing acceptance of abor- not considered a viable reason for abortion tion have begun to turn to a much wider range of (S 6 : 151). Sources for Islamic views of abortion are texts to inform their beliefs. They have appealed derived from the Qura¯ n, prophetic traditions not only the commandments, but also, for exam- (ahøa¯ dı¯ th), reasoned legal judgments (ijtiha¯ d), and ple, to the many passages where the Scriptures refer moral conscience. to God forming, naming and calling the child in Bibliography: ■ J. Brockopp (ed.), Islamic Ethics of Life (Co- the womb (e.g., Job 10 : 8–12; Ps 139 : 13–16; Jer lumbia, S.C. 2003). 1 : 5; Isa 44 : 1–2; Gal 1 : 15). The infancy narratives, David Bertaina especially the slaughtering of the innocents by Herod (Matt 1 : 16–18), the presence of Jesus in the womb of Mary (Saward 1993), and the leaping of Abot John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth (Luke /Avot 1 : 41–44) are also, now, invoked in the critique if the practice of abortion. Theologians also relate abortion to the identification of Christ with “the Abot de-Rabbi Natan least” in society (Matt 25 : 40) and to the parable of / the Good Samaritan (Luke 10 : 29–37). The child in Avot de-Rabbi Natan the womb is thus portrayed as our “unborn neigh- bor.” Not all of these texts are applied equally well, Aboulrabi, Aaron and one should be especially wary of assuming that Born in Sicily, Aboulrabi (15th cent.) authored a doctrine or practice can be read off a single passage. tome that combines Torah commentary with com- Nevertheless, in general, the broadening of the mentary on the classic work of medieval Jewish bib- number and scope of texts discussed in relation to lical exegesis, Rashi’s Commentary on the Torah. abortion is undoubtedly a positive thing. It has Aboulrabi’s work, composed in the version that has helped make explicit the scriptural worldview come down sometime after 1446, appears in a rare which is implicit in the enduring Christian attitude 16th-century Constantinople edition along with of concern for the unborn child. three other glosses on Rashi’s Commentary under the title Perushim le-Rashi. Bibliography: ■ M. Gorman/A. Brooks, Holy Abortion? (Eu- In his introduction, Aboulrabi states that since gene, Oreg. 2003). ■ D. A. Jones, The Soul of the Embryo (London 2004). ■ J. Keown, Abortion, Doctors and the Law Rashi’s words “were mostly hewn from the emi- (Cambridge 1988). ■ J. Saward, Redeemer in the Womb (San nent [rabbinic] oaks of old,” he will focus on Rashi Francisco, Calif. 1993). ■ R. Ward, Is the Fetus a Person? (Re- rather than other exegetes whose words merely re- ligious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Educational Se- flect their own individual opinion. Aboulrabi criti- ries No. 2; Washington, D.C. n.d.). cizes many midrashim adduced by Rashi in harsh David Albert Jones terms that are almost unique in Rabbanite biblical scholarship. At the same time, he ultimately bows V. Islam before rabbinic legal authority and even defends Islamic attitudes toward abortion are closely linked the classical rabbinic sages from Karaite attack. with the Qura¯ n’s description of God’s beneficence Aboulrabi considers grammar the pivot of in creating life. According to S 23 : 14, God insti- sound exegesis. He draws eclectically on philo-

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