Arnie thanks for your  info and clarification of Jewish views, which are so
often ignored or scorned by Catholics and Evangelical Protestants.  I am an
agnostic myself, but agree with most all of the teachings you explained.
Thanks for educating us. Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arnie Kuzmack" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2005 6:01 AM
Subject: Re: Jewish views on ESCR


> The Jewish views begin with a basic difference from those of Catholicism
> and
> Evangelical Protestantism:  We do not believe that "life begins at
> conception", that is, that a newly fertilized egg cell has a right to life
> equivalent to that of born humans and that to kill such a cell is murder.
> This is true for all movements in Judaism, including Orthodoxy.  The Union
> of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America has endorsed H.R. 810 (see
> link
> below).
>
> Thia position is based in large part on Exodus 21:22-25, which reads:
>
> "22. If men quarrel, and hurt a pregnant woman, so that her fruit depart
> from her, and yet no further harm follows; he shall be surely punished,
> according to what the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay
> as
> the judges determine.
> 23. And if any further harm follows, then you shall give life for life,
> 24. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
> 25. Burning for burning, wound for wound, bruise for bruise."
>
> In other words, if the fetus is unintentionally killed, the responsible
> party pays a monetary fine; if the woman is killed, then he is subject to
> capital punishment.
>
> Moreover, classic Jewish texts provide for what we now call "partial birth
> abortion" when necessary.  The Mishnah, a collection of legal texts
> compiled
> in the second and third centuries, provides:
>
> "If a woman is in hard travail, one cuts up the child in her womb and
> brings
> it forth member by member, because her life comes before its life. But if
> the greater part has proceeded forth, one may not touch it, for one may
> not
> set aside one person's life for that of another."  (Mishnah Oholot 7:6)
>
> It follows that the child has an equivalent right to life only after the
> moment of birth.
>
> It does NOT follow that Judaism endorses abortion on demand.  Just because
> killing a fetus is not murder, it still is a serious matter that can only
> be
> justified by a serious threat to the life or health, physical or
> psychological, of the mother.
>
> With respect to ESCR, the question is not abortion but the status of
> fertilized eggs or "pre-embryos" which have been created for in-vitro
> fertilization but which are unlikely to ever be implanted in a woman's
> womb.
> It is clear from the above that killing them is not murder, but it might
> still be problematic to use them for research or therapeutic purposes.
> The
> short answer seems to be that the many thousands that have already been
> created and are unlikely to ever be implanted may be used for such
> purposes,
> but there may be problems with _creating_ embryos for research or
> therapeutic purposes and it may be that IVF procedures should be carried
> out
> in a way that minimizes the creation of "extra" embryos.  We should also
> recognize that this is a new area, and there is not yet a consensus among
> Orthodox rabbis concerning it.  Reform and Conservative Rabbis are likely
> to
> have fewer reservations.
>
> These are complex issues that are not easily summarized in a brief e-mail.
> For further reading, see the following:
>
> http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/cohen200505240759.asp  (popular
> article).
>
> http://www.ou.org/public/statements/2005/n10.htm  (endorsement of HR 810
> by
> Orthodox Union).
>
> http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/stemcellres.html  (scholarly article is
> written
> to be accessible to readers without a background in Jewish law).
>
> http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/preemb.html  (scholarly article assumes
> familiarity with concepts of Jewish law).
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 5:10 PM
> Subject: Jewish views on ESCR
>
>
> from a rabbi:
>
> Rabbi Stanley Skolnik, Beth Sholom Reform Temple, Clifton
>
> "Judaism, as I believe and teach, places great importance
> upon human life and the preservation of the health and
> dignity of the individual in both life and death. A
> controlling principle governing most others, and even
> setting aside many cherished practices such as observing
> Sabbath restrictions, is called "pikuach nefesh" (the saving
> of life). It is from this principle that a host of
> permissive behaviors derive in order to protect or save
> life, and in the case of the use of fetal material
> (especially unused embryos) it would seem self-evident that
> the potential value of their use should override other
> considerations.
>
> A second Jewish principle which governs my beliefs is that
> of "bal tashchit," the Torah teaching that one should not
> waste or destroy anything of life or nature or of use to
> another. In this regard, I deem it unconscionable that an
> unwanted and unused embryo should be destroyed rather than
> respectfully used to improve human life and health. It is no
> different than discarding the usable organs of a dead person
> rather than transplanting them into the body of a living
> person who might benefit from a donated organ. It is not a
> question of when life begins, or even what constitutes
> death, but always how to save life while protecting the
> dignity of life and each human being.
>
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