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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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn