GEN711 Rabbi Akiva says: Whoever spoils blood [that is, kills someone], it is as if he or she had annihilated the likeness (Heb., demut) as it says: “He who spills the blood of a person, by a person shall his blood be shed, for He made humanity in the image of God [this verse]” Tosefta, Yevamot 8:5. COMMENT: This midrash starts with a moral and legal norm and then cites a verse as a prooftext. [The idea behind “prooftexting” is that the source is, in some way, divine and expresses God's truth and will. Hence, one can appeal to such a text as “proof” that something is true or morally desirable.]  This literary form is also one of the major literary forms for midrash: the “principle-prooftext” form. Here, Rabbi Akiva establishes that killing (purposeful, as well as accidental) is not only a crime punishable by the law but a violation of the moral order of the universe.  He formulates this by saying that whoever kills another human being diminishes the likeness and image of God in the universe, alluding to Gen. 1:26-27, “Let us make humanity in our image, according to our likeness.” As a prooftext, however, he cites the biblical text which links the killing of humans to the image [this verse]. [By a slight, but permissible, change in the grammar of Genesis 9:6, another reading is possible: “He who spills the blood of a person in a person, his blood shall be shed.” Catholic tradition uses this reading to forbid abortion. BANAL 150