Judaism Medical Technology

The misguided belief that one needs all body parts intact to be resurrected may contribute to the poor rate of organ donation--even for Jews with otherwise untraditional beliefs.

Sometimes there is a conflict between the mandate to save lives and the mandate to avoid health risks.

Jewish views on organ donation are overridden by a single halakhic (legal) concept: pikuach nefesh—the Jewish obligation to save lives.

The stem cells most likely to be of scientific value come from discarded embryos. Is it ethical to use these?

After learning the results of an experiment involving a decapitated sheep, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach decided to permit organ donations.

Some worry that the discovery of "Jewish" genetic diseases will negatively affect the image and treatment of Jews.

Most (but not all) rabbinic authorities consider "partial birth abortion" on the same terms as other abortions.

In Judaism, the question of when "ensoulment" takes place is both unanswerable and irrelevant to the issue of abortion.

Rabbinic authorities have always been aware of heredity and genetic disease.

Does the genome project take imitatio dei too far--beyond imitating God, to playing God?