A taxi to hospital on Shabbat – Ask the Rabbi
Q. I can understand that a women who is about to give birth needs to travel in a taxi to the hospital on Shabbat, but how can Jewish law allow the husband to travel with her?
A. The Talmud says in Tractate Shabbat, codified in halachah, that “We assist a woman to give birth on Shabbat: for her sake we may desecrate Shabbat” (Shab. 128b, Mishnah B’rurah 330:4).
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein says that the woman’s peace of mind is a supreme concern and even though the taxi ride might not be life-threatening she might be in a panic and need her husband or mother to keep her calm.
