Contraception in Contemporary Orthodox Judaism
Contraception in Contemporary Orthodox Judaism
Contraception in Contemporary Orthodox Judaism
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almost universal goal <strong>in</strong> the haredi society and much of the dati leumi<br />
society, and has assumed a status <strong>in</strong> which it is practically mandatory.<br />
This, of course, is not the case accord<strong>in</strong>g to the strict letter of the<br />
law. One wonders, if this elusive goal was not <strong>in</strong> the forefront of the<br />
collective conscience of the orthodox world, would there be such a<br />
negative attitude towards this young couple’s question of<br />
contraception?<br />
This br<strong>in</strong>gs us to the third hypothetical case – a married couple who<br />
have at least one son and one daughter, and perhaps more, have<br />
decided that enough is enough, at least for now. Their reason may be<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial, it may be personal, or may be simply to concentrate their<br />
efforts on the children they already have. There are no health issues<br />
concern<strong>in</strong>g either the parents or the children. They ask a rabbi the<br />
question of contraception. What should he tell them?<br />
Right off the bat, there is a clear p’sak from Rav Moshe Fe<strong>in</strong>ste<strong>in</strong> that<br />
the rhythm method is perfectly acceptable <strong>in</strong> halacha. This, however,<br />
was not what they had <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d. They want a form of contraception<br />
that imposes no further restrictions than they already have from the<br />
laws of niddah, mean<strong>in</strong>g the pill or IUD. These two methods suffer<br />
from the nebulous problem of artificial contraception <strong>in</strong>herently<br />
contradict<strong>in</strong>g the will of Hashem. It is unclear whether Rav Moshe<br />
meant this as a genu<strong>in</strong>e prohibition or not. Assum<strong>in</strong>g the latter, does<br />
this couple not have a right to make their own choice <strong>in</strong> hashkafa,<br />
regardless of the sentiments of the rabbi? If they tell him that they<br />
simply do not agree with Rav Moshe’s premise, then what could be<br />
the basis for deny<strong>in</strong>g them a heter?<br />
This question essentially boils down to whether philosophical<br />
objections to contraception <strong>in</strong> general should play a role <strong>in</strong> halacha. If<br />
yes, a heter can only be given for health reasons. This seems to be the<br />
position of the haredi world <strong>in</strong> general, at least from what is available<br />
<strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t. If not, there is no reason to not permit contraception.