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A Jewish Perspective On Brave New World Of Cloning By: Jackie Hermanson, Special to The Chronicle May 28, 2004 Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, KS The stem cells in a few-day-old human zygote (pre-embryo) can potentially develop into any kind of human tissue. Thus, these cells carry the hope of curing a range of medical conditions - from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, to diabetes and spinal cord injuries. But harvesting those cells kills the pre-embryos. In 2001, the ethical debate over stem cell use in scientific research came to a head as President Bush prohibited federal funding for research on embryonic human stem cells. While the debate no longer makes many headlines, it continues to pose moral questions. Rabbi Mark Washofsky has spent countless hours on this very issue. A professor of rabbinics at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, he is chair of the responsa committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which authored responsum on the subject in 2002. When Rabbi Washofsky addresses the community at Melton Mini-School graduation on Tuesday, June 1, he'll bring several Jewish texts for the group to study on this very issue and share liberal Judaism's perspective on cloning and human stem cell research. According to Rabbi Washofsky, the majority of halachic authorities agree that embryonic human stem cells can be used in research. "In Jewish tradition, preservation of life, or pikuach nefesh, is a mitzvah and one of the highest values," the rabbi said. "Using natural sciences to develop new cures for human disease is perfectly OK. "Furthermore, Jewish law does not prohibit the destruction of an embryo that is not in utero," Rabbi Washofsky says. "For that matter, destroying such embryos is not prohibited in any way." According to Rabbi Washofsky, Jewish belief holds that a fetus is not a nefesh - a legal person. The status of personhood does not exist until birth. Therefore, even a fetus does not have the same range of protections as a new baby. For this reason, abortion is not considered murder in Jewish law and can be permitted in a range of circumstances, although the precise identification of these circumstances is a matter of no small controversy among rabbinical authorities. A zygote outside the uterus has no chance of developing into a human person, and therefore has even a lesser status in Jewish law than fetuses in the first stages of gestation. The Bigger Question Today, embryonic stem cells most likely come from frozen, test-tube embryos that would likely be discarded. The responsa committee found no Jewish objection to utilizing these existing embryos for stem cell research and enthusiastically supported scientific efforts in this direction. The bigger question in Judaism, Rabbi Washofsky explains, comes in creating new embryos for the specific purpose of medical research. "Here we have to decide," he said, "what constitutes the unnecessary violation of the sanctity of the human organism." The Jewish view is that while prenatal human life does not share the same status as a nefesh, it is nonetheless a human organism and must be treated with reverence. Despite the fact that abortion (under certain circumstances) is not prohibited, according to Rabbi Washofsky, it is much harder to argue that creation of pre-embryos with the intention of destroying them is permitted. "To go that far would be to manipulate human life, its creation as well as its destruction, in a way that the responsa committee found to be inconsistent with the sanctity of the human organism and our duty of reverence toward it," Rabbi Washofsky said. "While the Jewish belief is that we should advance medical research, our responsum takes the position that there is no good reason at the present time to create embryos for the purpose of taking their stem cells," Rabbi Washofsky explained. "However, if there is a reasonable scientific prospect in the future that stem cell therapy might contribute directly to the preservation of the health and life of actual human beings, we would be open to a different answer, since pikuach nefesh would demand it." Brave New World On face value, one might guess that cloning defies Jewish law. After all, God is the creator of life. Are we playing God by "messing around with procreation?" Rabbi Washofsky says that Judaism overcame that concern long ago by teaching that the Torah allows us to use science in order to heal, even though this could be thought of as "playing God" by frustrating the divine will. A resolution supporting therapeutic cloning as a necessary step in stem cell research was submitted by the Reform Jewish Commission on Social Action and the Department of Jewish Family Concerns to the 67th Union of American Hebrew Congregations Assembly. While the resolution dealt only with therapeutic cloning, and not reproductive cloning, Rabbi Washofsky pointed out that, from a Jewish perspective, cloning poses other halachic questions. "If cloning resulted in reproduction of a human being, what is the status of that human being? For example, who is the biological mother? Who is the father if there is no sperm - the grandfather?" Rabbi Washofsky asks. Judaism might also ask, "Why would you do this?" "What is the Jewish purpose - to fulfill the mitzvah of 'be fruitful and multiply'?" "Is cloning a way to bring more Jews into the world?" "While there are no specific isurim (Jewish legal prohibitions) against cloning, Judaism must look at the social implications," Rabbi Washofsky advises. "But we cannot simply say that because no prohibition exists, we can do whatever we wish. If there's no obvious reason to stop (the research), why should we stop? But we must go very, very slowly." Jackie Hermanson is a local freelance writer. She produced this article at the request of The Department of Adult Jewish Education, a program of CAJE and JCC. SOURCE: Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, KS http://tinyurl.com/28vph * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn