Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Family planning for young kallah

17 May, 2005
Question:

Hi, I am a kallah and my wedding is very close. I am just very nervous about becoming pregnant…I am still 18, so I wonder if birth control would be halachically allowed? Thank you so much for this site, it is really helping me a lot.


Answer:

Mazal tov on your upcoming marriage!

Although there is a Biblical commandment to have children, and although Jewish law strongly encourages families larger than the minimum size, contraception is permitted under certain circumstances. A woman whose life would be endangered by pregnancy or childbirth is required to use birth control, in accordance with the principle that all commandments (except for the prohibitions against adultery/incest, idolatry, and murder) are suspended where life is in danger. Other situations, including the woman's physical or emotional condition and the family's ability to cope, may also be grounds for allowing contraception.  Getting married at such an early age may prove relevant.

Each couple should discuss their individual circumstances with a rabbinic authority.  If you do not have any such authority to turn to, you may contact us with further details for a specific p'sak from our rabbinic supervisor.

Feel free to write back with any further questions.

This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.
Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar