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The General Social Survey is a public opinion survey of a representative sample of adult Americans conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) and is conducted annually. Every report that I've seen indicates that those people who identify themselves as Jews are overwhelmingly (>70%) in favor of abortion for any reason. While I will admit that many people who identify themselves as Jewsih are not religious, still favoring abortion for any reason does not indicate a neutral position.

I think from my experiences that there is a difference in abortion opinion between the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews, although I have no statistical evidence for that opinion.

As a disclaimer, I am against abortion for any reason.

"Quoting one person for the view of Judaism is pretty lame. I would be willing to bet large amounts of money that reform (i.e. liberal) Jewish rabbis have a far different view on abortion than conservative or orthodox rabbis."

A passage in Exodus, that many liberal Jews claim supports a pro-choice positon, actually, if literally translated from Hebrew, calls a woman's fetus, "Yilodehah", or "her child."

The Talmud claims that human life begins when the soul and the body are united, which, it claims, begins on the 40th day after conception. The Talmud permits, actually, requires an abortion if the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother. A life is not to be traded for a life, and the unborn child is viewed as a pursuer of the life the mother, and must be stopped.

Otherwise, abortion is not permitted. I don't know where the more liberal members of my faith get off claiming that Judaism is not pro-life. After all, when we toast, we say "LeChayim" "To Life!"

Quoting one person for the view of Judaism is pretty lame. I would be willing to bet large amounts of money that reform (i.e. liberal) Jewish rabbis have a far different view on abortion than conservative or orthodox rabbis.

Reform might seem a bit more pro-choice than any other branch of Judaism, but even the Orthodox are not absolutely anti-choice.

Rabbi Ben-Ziol Uziel, the first Chief Rabbi (Sefardic) of the State of Israel (from 1939-1953), said:

It is clear that abortion is not permitted without reason .... But for a reason, even if it is a flimsy reason, such as to prevent the pregnant woman's disgrace then we have precedent and authority to permit it.

For the expression "flimsy reason", he used a Hebrew expression used in the Talmud to describe the surface of a soap bubble, so you can see he was willing to accept a Very flimsy reason for permitting an abortion. Although his opinion is not obligatory on anybody, the fact that he was Chief Sefardic Rabbi of Israel should make it obvious that an opposite opinion, especially if it is to be imposed on people, requires a good deal more rabbinical authority than we've heard in the recent debates.