EXOD584 Abortion of a fetus, soon after conception, is an act of aggression prohibited in the Bible [this and following verse]. According to the Talmud, the killing of a fetus does not constitute murder and is not a capital offense (Sanhedrin 57b). A fetus may be aborted if the mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy (Ohalot 7:6). Abortion for the sake of destroying a defective child is not permissible, unless it is essential to the preservation of the physical and emotional health of the mother.