Ethical Debate with Judaism - Embryo Research

etical issues around new technology and practices - establishment of bioethics - Ellenson suggests that when seaking ethical solutions 'many turn to religious tradition for direction and guidence#

Jewish Medical ethics has been deciced through halakhic tradition - Newman explains that it is split into 3 steps 'Identifying precedents from classical jewish literature. adducing pricniples from these texts and applying these principles to new sets of facts

Stem Cells are special cells that have the potential to grow into any type of cell found in the body - found in embroys but can come from umbilical cords, bone marrow and tissues all from adult humans - possible to remvoe stem cells from human embroys that are a few days old - Pikuach Nefesh (Sancity of Life) -'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour's life' (Leviticus) - overrides anyother religious teachin 'he shall live by them, and not that he shall die by them' (Babylonian Talmud)

Eisenberg - IVF - embroys that have been fertilized are fulfilling the mitzvah of procreation - spare embroys that are not implanted - anything prior to forty days gestation the featus lacks huamity - argues against  festivalisation to create stem cells - permitted once the embroys but cannot argeu that creating embroys to be destroyed is not -

Halakhic agreement is that stem cell reaseach is permitted on spare embroys - if they are going to be destroted - Rabbi Tendler argued in favour of the use of pre-embroys for stem cell research

Dorff argues hat embroys which stay outside of the womb have no chance to become children - 'its not only permitted, there is a jewish mandate to do so' - permissible to create embroys for stem cells - Rabbi Mackler - supports stem cell but is wary of using anything other than embroys taken from fertility clinics

Somatic cell nuclear trans is a technique by which the nuclear is transferred to an egg that has had its own nucleus removed - during the blastocyst stage - embroyonic stem cells can be created - identical DNA to the orginal organism

SCMY used in the field of reproductive cloning - Dolly the sheep - used for regenative medecine - therapuetic cloning

potential to find new and effective treatments for Parkinson's disease - 'our tradition equires that we use all available knowledge to heal th eill, and "when one delays in doing so, it is as if he has shed blood" Shulchan Arukh

Dorff links the stem cell research to responsible dominion over nature - 'we are God's "partners in the ongoing act of creation" when we improve the human lot in life'  - Tendler God has given humans a 'positive commandment' to 'master the world' - god has given humankind the knowledge by which we can develop new treatments that cause suffering

Union for Reform Jews in the USA - Central conference of American Rabbis applies Nachmanides principle - mitzvah to heal - 'stem cells partakes of the mitzvah of healing, surely our society outght to support it

Resulted in pre implantation genetic screening -- used when a person or family has a serious genetic condition that is likely tob e passed on from one generation to the next

Tay-sachs sisease - while rare is prevalent in jewish communities of Ashkenazi descent - progressive damage to the nervous system and is usually fatal - already supported pre-implantation screening of embroys for tay-sachs

Dr Silber - PGS represents no moral or ethical risk because there is not a soulm in the embryo - embryo research to promote life - 'would not be considered murder to utilise an early embryo for research that migh eventually save lives'

Wright points out that 'a man should not marry a woman from a family epltics or from a family of lepers' - Most jews are opposed to selection of embroys in order to produce a child of a particular gender, or that would inherit certain traits - too close to the holocuast

Dr Rosner - Gene surgery or genetic surgery - genes invisible to the naked eye - cannot be considered unclean (as said by Rabbi Azriel) - Rosner claims that the fertilised zygote is not a person - Rabbi Moshe Heshler - 'he who changes the arrangement of creation is lacking in faith'

Proffesor of Jewish Law and Ethics at Yeshiva University - opposed to the destruction of pre-embroyed and thier use in stem cell research - killing the embroy - debate over the soul and if it comes from the moment of fertilisation or forty days later

It would influence the mother's decision as if if she thought that it would help humanity then she'd be more likely to have an abortion - 'when you have government funding, you have people tlaking to the mother about the fact that her baby could help humanity, that does become a motivating force'

Does not rule out the process of embryos created through the development of a germ cell without ferilisation - scientists are able to expose unfertilised eggs to chemicals - embroys are not able to survive even if returned to the womb- not viable

Not opposed to the use of embroys fertilised about IVF

Tendler calls stem cell reserach 'the hope of mankind'

Soul doesn't enter the embnryo at conception but only after forty days have pased - does not consider the destruction of an embryo as homicide - 'the proposition that humanhood begins at zygote formation, even in vitro, is without basis in biblical development'

he makes a strong case for stem cell research and therapy based upon jewish obligation to save life - pikachu nefesh

'A fence that prevents the cure of fatal diseases must not be erected'

Professor of Tissue Stem Cell Biology - it can be damaged by certain medical treatments - stem cell research has been fundamental in the search for a way in which to replace

First identified and characterised the specific stem cell population - overwhelming goal is to develop cell replacement for boosting thmus function -created a fully functiong organ from lab created cells in 2014

MRC shos that reprogrammed cells - technology could be used in leukaemia