Tag
Medical Ethics
7 articles
Pikuach Nefesh: Saving a Life
Pikuach nefesh — the obligation to save a life — is the most powerful principle in Jewish law, overriding nearly every commandment including Shabbat, Yom Kippur fasting, and kashrut.
Jewish Medical Ethics: Where Halakha Meets Medicine
Jewish medical ethics — rooted in pikuach nefesh (saving life) — addresses organ donation, abortion, end-of-life care, genetic testing, IVF, and stem cells. Discover how halakha navigates the intersection of ancient law and modern medicine.
Judaism and Organ Donation: Saving Lives as the Highest Mitzvah
Jewish law overwhelmingly supports organ donation as an expression of pikuach nefesh — the imperative to save life. Yet debates about brain death and bodily integrity create real tensions, especially in Orthodox communities.
Judaism and End-of-Life Ethics: Between Compassion and Commandment
Jewish law forbids hastening death but also forbids prolonging suffering needlessly. Between these two poles lies one of the most difficult and compassionate ethical traditions ever developed — a framework for dying with dignity that the modern world is only now catching up to.
Judaism and IVF: The First Commandment Meets Modern Medicine
The very first commandment in the Torah is 'be fruitful and multiply.' So when modern medicine offers ways to fulfill that commandment for couples who cannot conceive naturally, Jewish law responds with surprising openness — and fascinating complexity.
Jewish Genetic Diseases: The Science, the Screening, and the Ethics
Tay-Sachs, BRCA mutations, Gaucher disease — certain genetic conditions occur at dramatically higher rates among Ashkenazi Jews. The reasons involve population genetics, not divine punishment. And the Jewish community's response has been a model of ethical innovation.
Consent in Jewish Law and Ethics
Judaism has a rich tradition of consent across many domains — marriage, commerce, medical treatment, and communal life. Jewish law insists on informed agreement as a foundation of ethical relationships.