Rabbi Rhine,

I wanted to ask you about inductions.  For all of these contractions, we’re surprised that so far this baby is not budging.  The due date is Wednesday, and we know the doctor will want to schedule an induction sooner than later.  As he explained it, the suggested induction is entirely about medical necessity not convenience.

That said we are sensitive to the halachic considerations of not inducing labor until it becomes absolutely necessary.  So the question is what kind of leeway do we have to consider convenience within a window of medical necessity?

 

Hi!

There are 2 primary considerations that cause us to be hesitant with induction.
1- Childbirth for the Mom is considered a miracle. We do not intentionally bring her into a situation that she needs a miracle to keep her safe. When Hashem brings her into it we have the “right” to say, “You brought us into this; please grant us the miracle of safety.” (A bit like: We don’t bring ourselves into religiously compromising or challenging situations. But if they do arise without our planning them, we have every “right” to ask Hashem for help to overcome challenge.)
2- A child has a proper Mazal, destiny, which is in sync with when he/she is born. We do not purposely alter that. If there is medical indication requiring intervention then we view that intervention which we must do as Hashem’s Will, and follow medical need as Halacha tells us to.
With that background, let’s see what doctor says is medically needed.
Heartfelt best wishes,
Rabbi Rhine
Great, thank you so much for explanation and background, and I will let you know what the doctor says tomorrow should we get that far.

 -David