Judaism Bioethics

BIOETHICS: The discipline dealing with the ethical implications of both biological research and the applications of that research, especially in medicine. ewish !rincipals relating to Bioethics "drawn from the Tenach, the Talm#d and on$going %abbinical tradition&: '. H#man life has intrinsic(f#ndamental )al#e *. !reser)ation of life is most important +. ,ll h#man li)es are e-#al .. ,ll life belongs to /od 0. 1ife is sacred 2 /od is within #s 3. ,ctions towards others are the manifestation of my imitation of /od

Other so#rces of Ethical ,#thority: Torah 2 pro)ides g#idelines for moral beha)io#r and s the comm#nication of /od4s will for His people. Halacha 2 ewish law(way of life %abbinical teachings to pro)ide contemporary answers based on old precepts( ewish law 5it6)ot 2 O#tlining what to do and what not to do ewish concepts eg. !i7#ach 8efesh

ORGAN DONATION

FOR CONSERVATIVE Rabbi Isaac Klein points out that eventually that a t ansplante! o "an #ill eventually be bu ie!$ thus satis%yin" the e&ui e'ent that all seve e! pa ts o% a pe son be bu ie!( )i*uach Ne%esh Obli"ation to save lives

AGAINST Torah(Talm#d 2 9e#teronomy *':**$*+ :his body shall not remain all night hanging on the tree, b#t tho# shalt s#rely b#ry him that same day; 2 %abbis concl#de that to mistreat or m#tilate the body of a deceased is a )iolation of script#ral law 9e#teronomy .:< :Ta7e heed to thyself and 7eep thy so#l diligently; 2 interpreted by Talm#d and 5aimonides to mean that a person is obligated to

a)oid dangero#s sit#ations O)ERATION )IK+AC, NEFES, o "ani-ation !evote! speci%ically to e!ucatin" the .e#ish co''unity about the i'po tance o% o "an !onation Tal'u!/ 0All o% Is ael is esponsible one %o the othe 1 02hoeve is able to save anothe an! !oes not save hi' t ans" esses the ne"ative co''an!'ent$ neithe shall you stan! i!ly by the bloo! o% thy %ello#1 3ai'oni!es Talm#d: :=o#r life becomes before that of another;

9efinition of >death4 "read below&

9efinition of 9eath The remo)al of a )ital organ prior to the point of death wo#ld be considered m#rder. !i7#ach 8efesh does not o)erride m#rder. Therefore, a definition of death is needed when considering donations from a dying ew. Talm#d: If a feather held below his nose doesn4t mo)e and when an ear pressed against his chest does not detect a heartbeat Conser)ati)e and %eform ews: Cessation of brain acti)ity '<?@s 2 OrthodoA accept same definition "cessation of brain acti)ity& Bltra$OrthodoA 2 Brain cessation, howe)er in addition the heart m#st stop beating for +@ seconds before )ital organs are remo)ed.

CIn general Organ 9onation is accepted and e)en enco#raged.

A4ORTION

FOR )e 'itte! "ene ally only i% the e is a !i ect th eat to the li%e o% the 'othe in ca yin" the %oetus o in chil!bi th )sychiat ic th eats to the 'othe i% p obable an! substantial 'ay 5usti%y abo tion e"( ape$ incest Rabbi 2al!enbe " allo#s %i st t i'este

AGAINST 5ishna 2 Ohlos D:3 2 if it wo#ld be possible to sa)e the mother by the maiming "disable(disfig#re& of the foet#s, s#ch as by amp#tating a lib, abortion wo#ld be forbidden Once the baby4s head has been deli)ered the baby4s life is considered e-#al to the mother4s Halacha does not assign relati)e )al#es to different

abo tion o% a %oetus #hich #oul! be bo n #ith a !e%o 'ity that #oul! cause it to su%%e $ an! te 'ination o% a %oetus #ith a lethal !e%ect such as Tay Sachs up to the en! o% the secon! t i'este o% "estation 3ishneh states in the %i st 67 !ays o% "estation the %oetus is not %ully hu'an so an abo tion is not *illin" o% a pe son(

li)es, therefore most maEor commentators forbid abortion in cases of abnormalities or deformation

5ishna "Sanhedrin .:0&: >Fhoe)er destroys one life is as if he destroyed a whole world, and whoe)er preser)es a life is as if he preser)ed the whole world4 SiAth Commandment $ >9o not 7ill4

C,bortion is generally not accepted.

E+T,ANASIA

8ot accepted in #daism, howe)er there is no re-#irement to start treatment to prolong life which will only add s#ffering eg. can remo)e a )entilator 1ife belongs to /od, therefore no one may eAting#ish life Torah 2 forbids m#rder !reser)ation of life is one of the s#preme moral )al#es Sa)ing someone from pain is not a reason to 7ill them ,cceptable to as7 /od in prayer to remo)e a person from their pain and s#ffering ,ny action that may hasten death eg. closing the patient4s eyes or mo)ing a limb is prohibited * Sam#el 2 Ging Sa#l orders a yo#ng soldier to 7ill him, rather than be capt#red ali)e. Ging 9a)id eAec#ted the soldier to show that e#thanasia was e-#i)alent to m#rder , physician may not withhold fl#ids, food or oAygen 2 obligation of physician to sa)e li)es