There is no one definitive progressive Jewish approach to the issue. Different rabbis would emphasise different elements of this always emotionally complex dilemma: some would stress the potential viability of the foetus to become a fully human being and the deep Judaic sense that all of life partakes of the sacred, and thus the destruction of that potential life is a serious act never to be undertaken casually or as a substitute, for example, for responsible use of contraceptives ; others would balance that view with an awareness that, in Jewish tradition, the mother’s wellbeing (emotional, physical or psychological) takes precedence over the wellbeing of the foetus. In the background to this always fraught issue is the historical/traditional Jewish response that opposes abortion in principle (because it destroys life) but permits it in certain circumstances (because the mother’s actual life and needs, particularly if there is any danger to her health, takes precedence over the baby’s potential life).

I don’t know how many progressive Jews would talk to their rabbi these days if they were faced with this painful dilemma. They are more likely to speak to a counsellor or therapist if they need to talk through the emotional burden of this kind of decision. Potential mothers (and potential fathers in some cases) will have to live with the emotional reverberations of this decision for the rest of their lives. What I know from my own psychotherapeutic practice is that no matter how many years have passed since a woman has made their fateful choice, its echoes resonate on within her mind and feelings: feelings of loss and sadness, regret and guilt can mix with a sense of relief or a reconciled sense that this is the way it felt it had to be. One way or another, for good or bad, it always becomes an indelible part of the fabric of life.