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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Corona & Contraception

2 February, 2021
Question:

We have two little boys. Without the pandemic, we were planning to try to conceive again around now. But I am just hearing about cases of pregnant women in ICU with Covid, and I’m scared. Can we continue to use contraception until after I’m vaccinated (which will probably be months from now)?


Answer:

Halacha follows medical consensus on this type of issue. There is growing concern that Covid 19, especially the new variants, presents special risks to pregnant women. So there is good reason to be vaccinated before trying to conceive.

In July 2020, Rav Yehuda Henkin z”l, our site’s founding rabbinic supervisor, permitted couples with concerns about conceiving during the pandemic to use contraception until there was more information about potential risks. In December 2020, Rav Henkin permitted couples to use contraception until after vaccination has taken full effect. This has now also become a public health recommendation in a number of countries, including the UK and Israel.

Therefore, you are halachically permitted to use contraception for this purpose, even if you have not yet fulfilled the mitzva of peru urevu.

During the pandemic, medical knowledge is constantly changing, especially with the emergence of new variants and the development of new vaccines. As with all medical questions, it is best to consult with your physician regarding your personal situation, and then ask additional halachic questions if relevant.

To learn more about contraceptive options, please see our site’s articles under Family Planning.

We wish you and your family continued good health! Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

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