"There are three stages in a man's life: (a) in the womb, (b) in this world and (c) in the world to come.When the child is in the mother's womb all his needs are met. If it were up to him, he would remain there forever. When he leaves the womb it is because he has no choice in the matter. In truth, whatever takes place in the womb is wondrous and beyond our comprehension, such as how the infant exists in that environment, and what it is that forces him, at the appropriate time, to emerge from there. Just as the understanding of the workings of this phenomenon is hidden from us, so too the work of G-d, in general, is hidden from our comprehension and is wondrous. The fact that we cannot comprehend it should not prevent us, however, from appreciating and seeing the hand of G-d and the wonders of His creation, every day, as we go about our daily lives." 

"At the beginning of a human being's existence, the Creator appointed the mother's body to serve as a crib for the fetus so that it might abide in a safe place, a strongly guarded fortress, as it were, where no hand can touch it, where it cannot be affected by heat or cold, but is shielded and sheltered and where its food is ready for it. Here it continues to grow and develop, even becomes capable of moving and turning, and receives its nourishment without any effort or exertion. This nourishment is provided for it in a place where no one else can in any way reach it, and is increased as the fetus develops until a definite period."

"The definition of murder according to the Noahide Laws includes a person who kills "even one unborn in the womb of its mother," and adds that such a person is liable for the death penalty.”

The Shulchan Aruch is the code of Jewish law most referenced for Jewish legal opinions. It contains the opinion that all Sabbath rules prohibiting carrying, working and traveling must be violated to help a Jewish woman in labor.

After New York State Legalized Abortion in 1970:"Sometimes we must protest under sacred and noble causes. It bleeds my heart that none of the Jewish organizations in New York protested......We are more guilty than any other people; we are more ashamed than any other generation." 

Rabbi Keller condemned the new abortion law in New York State. In an article entitled “The Unbridgeable Gap: A Torah Look at the American Reality” published in The Jewish Observer in May 1971, Rabbi Keller made this observation: "Then (it was just before Pesach) one of the legislators arose, and with tears in his eyes, in effect said: How can I sit at the Seder with my family knowing that my vote caused this measure to be defeated? He, therefore, in the name of all that Pesach stands for, changed his vote, which was the decisive one vote passage of the bill. In the State of New York, as of today, close to one hundred thousand human lives have been snuffed out before they had a chance to see the light of day, all in the name of Jewish liberalism." 

Rav Shach on Chumash Parashas Va’eschanan p. 215. “The only relevant factor is prolonging life. Even if the quality of life will be reduced and there will be what appears to be unnecessary suffering, life is paramount. We find that our master, Moshe, asked to remain alive even. As a bird! What value can life as a bird have - he cannot fulfill mitzvah as a bird! Yet, one who knows that everything that HaShem created was created for His glory, and that each creature adds to the glory of Heaven in this world, knows the true value of each second of life, in whatever state! "

Detroit Rabbi Joshua Sperka was one of the first anti-abortion activists to speak in the graphic terminology that has marked the movement during testimony on the abortion bills."We have experienced the impact of a society which, step by step, has betrayed humanity's essential reverence for the sacredness of human existence," he said during a Senate Judiciary committee meeting in 1967. "These words disguised the mass murder of a people. We are dealing with human life and the consequences of this proposal no man can foresee."

Advising an expectant mother in 1971, Rabbi Schneerson (the Lubavitcher Rebbe) wrote, “Should there be those who desire to persuade [you] that — God forbid — you perform an abortion: Tell them that this constitutes deliberate murder of a creature who is as yet unable to protect himself from those who seek to murder him.” 

“Their blood cries out from the earth,” Rabbi Miller said of Israel’s abortions. 

Abortion in Israel is “mass slaughter of the innocents … posing a security problem graver than any threats of war or terror."

At a 1972 rally in Central Park urging the repeal of New York State's liberalized abortion law, Rabbi Gross declared,“Let us call abortion by its proper name — murder."

"...it is clear that a Jew may not kill a fetus, as there is a general principle that anything forbidden to non-Jews is forbidden to Jews as well. The purpose of the Torah is to sanctify the Jewish people and to demand much of them when it comes to mitzvot, so it is inconceivable that something forbidden to non-Jews would be permissible for Jews (Sanhedrin 59a). Thus, once we know that a non-Jews may not kill a fetus, it follows that Jews may not, either."

"It should not need to be debated that unborn children have the right to be born, and the lives of the elderly and infirm are no less precious than the lives of society's most fortunate. The rich and powerful do not have the right to decide the value of anyone's life, nor when someone has “already lived their life” and it's time for them to go. That is strictly the purview of God, who forbids us to make such distinctions or calculations, even for the alleged “greater good." It's always for the greater evil. It's always to displace God. The Torah teaches that every life is a unique world, and every moment of every life is infused with the potential to achieve great spiritual heights. One can achieve a share in the world to come with a single heroic act (Avoda Zara 17A and 18A), and one can repent his sins in a quiet moment of reflection (Kiddushin 49B). 

With reference to that Gemara, Rabbi Lazer Brody has written:“In light of the above Talmudic teachings, any person who performs, supports, assists, or encourages abortions is delaying the arrival of Moshiach with his or her own two hands…So, if you’d like to lend a helping hand in bringing Moshiach as fast as possible, do what you can to fight against abortion in every way possible.” 

“In Judaism, there is no difference between morality and Torah law,” Rabbi Halperin explained. “What others call morality is how Jews serve God. This especially includes difficult life and death decisions, what we call the sanctity of life. Life is holy, the holiest thing in the world, because it is through life that we serve God. “Therefore, no person can be the master over life; not his own and certainly not someone else’s. Life belongs to God and He is the only one who decides over when it begins and when it ends. So even a person who is in a vegetative state, his soul being in the world increases the Glory of Heaven that is in the world. “Morality that is not based in the Torah is selective, placing Man at the top, in the decision making role. A person can destroy his own property or tell someone else to destroy it because it is his property to do with as he chooses. In selective morality, if a man chooses to end his life, since it is his life, he is within his right to do so. “But if you believe that the essence of life is the soul that was placed there by God, and that belongs to him, is part of him, then taking life is the worst crime possible. “It is absolutely forbidden under any condition to remove someone from life-saving measures, even if he is suffering, even if he requests it. Similarly, it is forbidden to withhold normal treatment, or food and water and medicine, that will extend his life. These things are murder, plain and simple. You can pray for his suffering to end but you cannot actively end it. “If a person has a chance to live after resuscitation or CPR, even if he will be disabled, then every effort must be made to lengthen his life. But if there is no chance for him to return to life, if he will for sure never return to consciousness, then there is no necessity to resuscitate the person.”In the case of many people and limited resources, of course the doctors must choose who they have the greatest chance of saving. But the doctor may not make a judgment between the value of two lives. It is not his place to do so.” 

Respect for human life – Do not murder