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