As opposed to abortion as I am, if the life of the mother is in danger, it is morally permissible to abort the fetus.
Additionally, to state that abortion is the number one evil in the world today, is to forget that there are thousands of people who see it as their mission in this world to harm, maim, or kill innocent human beings in the prime of their lives, with whom they have had no previous contact, all in the name of the perversion of their world-dominating objective. As bad as abortion is, this is a malicious act,which is THE leading act of evil in our world today, IMO.
I don't think that there are varying degrees of evil. Something is either evil or it isn't. When we compare the murderous dictators of the world, can we say that one is less evil than the other because he was responsible for fewer deaths? Was Hitler less evil than Stalin because he murdered six million rather than 20 million? I don't think so.
Isn't this what an abortionist does?
And this is in keeping with even the most orthodox of Jewish sects.
My Grandfather was Orthodox, and one Yom Kippur (a fast day, where no food or water is to be consumed, and one of the "High Holy Days") he became a bit dizzy. The Rabbi ordered my Grandfather to stop praying, to drink some water, and to rest a while (he was well into his 80's). After giving him some more water and a snack, the Rabbi drove my Grandfather home, which he would have never done. But it's a far greater sin to put your health in jeapordy than to blindly "follow the rules." That and the Rabbi would never have asked anyone else to break the rules of not working on Yom Kippur (by driving).
Mark
This is the position that halachah takes, but medical science has advanced to a stage where this situation can be avoided.
In the context of the "pro-choice" argument, this is a red herring. "Choice" is not the issue here. Theraputic abortions to save the mother's life were always performed legally even before Roe vs. Wade.