Odds are these are questions that, in one form or another, will come to the minds and hearts of each and every one of us. It is because we don't want to deal with the discomfort, because we think that pondering the problem will somehow summon it. It is as if we are silent, out of fear. The second lesson I remembered this week came from Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman. Take the example of abortion.
Fertility is a blessing in our tradition, and having children a commandment.
A life in potential does have value, and importance, and status. But so does the life of the mother. Jewish tradition weighs and balances competing claims and interests, rather than applying a declaration in all circumstances. For Jewish tradition is not actually pro- choice. There is very rarely an absolute position.